Fun Parties for Fun Kids

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Any parents who have ever struggled with planning, organizing, and then
executing their child’s birthday party will appreciate this book. In
the opening section, “Party FUN-damentals,” in addition to some
dozen basic games, Graham provides helpful hints about general party
planning, which will be especially valuable for novice party planners.
The meat of the book, the theme parties, is divided into two parts. The
first nine parties are for children aged 4 to 6 (these are planned to
run from two to two-and-a-quarter hours), while the remaining nine
birthday parties are for 7– to 10-year-olds (these are intended to
last from two to two-and-a-half hours). Themes for the younger set
include “Let’s Have a Parade,” “Chef-for-a-Day,” “Teddy Bear
Picnic,” and “Garden Tea Party.” Parties for the older group
involve more active and challenging themes like “Football Fever,”
“Movie Madness,” “Let the Games Begin,” and “Create a
Carnival.” For each theme party, in addition to a suggested schedule,
Graham provides suggestions for such things as invitations, activities,
food, and loot bag contents.

Occasionally, some of Graham’s activity suggestions, especially for
the younger group, seem age-inappropriate. For example, in the “Dino
Dig” party Graham “[encourages] the children to take notes as their
friends dig.” Given the children’s literacy stage, such expectations
are unrealistic. The liberal use of Richler’s cartoon illustrations
suggests that perhaps Graham assumes that parents will share the book
with at least an older child so that the child might have some input
into his or her own parties. Recommended.