No Presents Please

Brenda Baltensperger is a playwright, a director of children’s
theatre, an editor of children’s fiction, and the author of Fractured
Fairy-tales.

Susie Bright has invited her school friends to her Halloween birthday
party. Her family has just moved into a round house her father built in
Larkspur. The party is important to Susie, because until now the family
has moved every time her father built a new house and she’s never
lived anywhere long enough to make friends or have a pet. On the day of
the party, Susie’s parents announce that they must go away on a
business trip, but will return later. In the meantime, they’ve
arranged for a catering company to make all the preparations.

Shortly after Susie sees her parents off at the heliport, she hears the
doorbell. A strange woman named Mrs. Fixit, who sells jellybeans for
charity, asks if she can use the phone. Susie sees the answering machine
light is flashing and discovers that the caterers have double-booked and
consequently cancelled her party. Mrs. Fixit, with Susie’s help,
prepares all the food and the party is a great success. Afterwards Mrs.
Fixit disappears. When Susie’s parents return, they’ve brought a
present for her—a kitten that looks extraordinarily like Mrs. Fixit.

This delightful, easy-to-read chapter book will help young readers to
understand the loneliness that children whose families move frequently
have to contend with and their difficulty in maintaining friendships.
Highly recommended.