I had mixed feeling about this book after reading it. I liked the book because of its characters and illustrations. However, the language of the book does not keep the audience well engaged. The plot follows a child through his grandpa’s birthday celebration. This is very relatable to the type of audience the author was addressing. For example, Bones is very curious about what is inside his grandpa’s gift. Most children have that same anticipation of opening a gift to see what’s inside. The illustrations play an important role in this book because it is categorized as a child’s “first chapter book.” This means they are transitioning over from picture books to full worded texts. The illustrations show the characters excitement, which is helpful for young readers because it may be challenging to pick up emotion from the text. For example, Bones wanted to try a piece of his grandpa’s cake. If you could not “read between the lines” then one would miss the excitement he felt. However, if you look at the pictures, Bone’s face is filled with joy. Nevertheless the language of the book was not very engaging. If I was a young reader who viewed reading as a chore rather than a fun activity, this book would add fuel to that fire. The writing is very short and does not give much description of anything. Being a ”first chapter book” I can understand why, but it was not enough to make me want to finish the book. An excerpt from the book, “Dad put the cake on my lap. There was icing on the seat. Dad wiped it off.” Nothing in those few sentences draws me in or makes me want to continue reading. Despite the language, the main idea of the book attracts its young readers because it is about a boy on a mission to find his grandpa’s missing gift.

School Library Journal, May 2007, page 84.

"With Newman's bright and cheerful illustrations througout the easy-to-read and humorous text, Adler has once again created an enjoyable story."