This installment in the Dr. Seuss lineup was first published in 1959, and tells us all about the land of Katroo, where they really know how to wish someone a happy birthday. There’s a designated Birthday Honk-Honker, whose job it is to climb up to Mt. Zorn and blow the Birthday Horn. This heralds the triumphant entry of The Birthday Bird, a happy-looking fowl with a big smile on his face. He was trained by The Katroo Happy Birthday Association, and it’s his job to oversee your special day.
The bird flies into your bedroom window and encourages you to hurry and get dressed, so you don’t miss a thing. Then he serves you up a fabulous breakfast, of which you may eat as much as you like, all while riding on a Smorgasbord’s back.
Then you are taken to the Official Katroo Birthday Sounding-Off Place, where you open your mouth wide and yell, “I am I!” Let’s celebrate that you are you, because no one else is. You’re special, and today is the day to commemorate it.
After that, you slide down to the Birthday Flower Jungle to smell the flowers that have been grown especially for you, to smell the way you like best. They can smell like anything – licorice, cheese – you name it!
You also get to select a pet from the Official Katroo Birthday Pet Reservation. Your ideal pet is yours – just choose! But if you’re choosing based on height, you have to watch ‘em – sometimes they stand on their tippy toes to cheat.
Now we’ll go to the Birthday Pal-alace, a marvelous place that has nine thousand, four hundred and three rooms to play in. Wow – we could play some serious hide-and-seek in there.
Musicians and presents, cake and more presents, surprises and presents – this is how they celebrate in Katroo. And you know what – Dr. Seuss wishes he could do all that for you.
This book is a fun way to celebrate a birthday with your child – I especially like the emphasis on how special each child really is.
Related Blogs:
Dr. Seuss Series: Hunches in Bunches