This is a sweet story without being saccharine. It's touching that there's an entire Katroovian "Asso-see-eye-ation" and several specialized Clubs devoted to making sure kids feel like a million bucks on their birthdays. Such nurturing is law in Katroo: The Birthday Bird follows an established set of rules and customs.

At the book's end, grown-up readers will empathize with Dr. Seuss's poignant longing: "And I wish / I could do / All these great things for you!" One young child yearned to splash in the warm mountain "Mustard-Off Pools."

The watercolor illustrations are painted in nostalgic 1950s pastels accented with red, bright yellow, and black, and feature Dr. Seuss's trademark curvy, soaring architecture.

The Birthday Bird is well organized and experienced with children: Sensibly, he intersperses calming, refreshing activities--such as wienie roasting and bathing--with more frenzied celebrating. This means the boy ends his special day in peaceful, satisfied slumber rather than cranky meltdown.

Other birthday books include Arthur's Birthday and A Birthday Basket for Tia.