Review Detail

Danbi's Favorite Day

Kids Fiction 353

Party like a kid!

June 06, 2023

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Danbi, who debuted in Danbi Leads the School Parade, has settled into life in the US after her family moved from South Korea. They run a deli now, and when Danbi invites all of her friends to a Children's Day celebration, her parents have to scale down her plans a tiny bit. It might be her favorite day, but tigers, magic castles, train rides, and eating thousands of chocolate chip cookies might be a bit over the top. Because her parents want to help, the plan a more modest celebration behind the deli. They tell Danbi that it will most likely rain, but she wants to have her party outisde. Her friends are glad to attend, and there are balloons, streamers, and chalk for drawing pictures. When a storm does blow in, Danbi is crushed, but the party resumes inside. She is allowed to make some interesting sandwiches covered in whipped cream, and no one says no to chocolate chip cookies of her mother's rainbow cake. While the party might not have been exactly what she wanted, Danbi is happy that she and her friends were able to celebrate Children's Day in style.

Good Points

Kim's softly shaded illustrations are charming, and I don't know that I have ever seen anyone who draws different textures of hair quite so well! There are lots of fun details, like Danbi's shoes with cat faces on them, and the colors express the emotions quite well. The storm page is very dark, since Danbi's dreams have been crushed! I haven't read the first book, but it looks like a very interesting title as well.

Often, children's ideas of what constitute a celebration (Tigers?!) might differ wildly from what the celebration might be. This was an excellent look at how expectations can be managed to celebrate an occasion in a way that makes a child happy (gummy bears on a sandwich) but is also possible for parents to pull off.

There are so many picture books about Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving that it's good to see a book about a celebration that is bit less common. Blow up some balloons and settle down to read this along with Evan's A Celebration of Brothers or A Celebration of Sisters, Heo's Henry's First-Moon Birthday, Delacre's Rafi and Rosi: Carnival!, Duchêne and Parhad's Pool Party, or McCormack Fiesta Dress. Of course, chocolate chip cookies are compulsory!