This is the story of a perfectionist Beaver and his not-so-perfect friends. Their plan is to make a birthday cake and... well... it doesn't go so well. At least not for Beaver. Next thing you know, he's doing it all himself. The right way. Except, now it's a little lonely.

The illustrations are colorful and delightful. There's a nice lesson, but it isn't too on the nose. A good reminder for all of us perfectionists out there. (That's me!)

This charming book is about an adorable beaver perfectionist and it includes a very valuable life lesson. It's a story about a controlling disposition, animal teamwork and irreplaceable friendships.

Beaver meticulously plans out his own birthday cake. When it's all ready to be made his friends Tortoise, Bird, Rabbit, and Squirrel decide that they want to be part of creating it. With everyone pitching in (literally) the cake evolves into flavours that aren't in the plan. Beaver finds this totally unacceptable and finally Beaver snaps!

"This is the the UGLIEST, most DISGUSTING cake I have ever seen! he yelled. ... "I will have to start all over again - ALONE!"

While his friends sleep Beaver labours over remaking his masterpiece and finally it is truly is his PERFECT birthday cake.

"Perfectly baked, perfectly iced, and perfectly balanced."

But when Beaver sits down to have a piece he comes to a startling realization... his cake is perfect but his friends are gone. He has nobody to share his cake with. What good is a perfect cake that you have to eat all alone? He comes to the realization that the important thing is not his perfect cake but the great friendships he is lucky enough to have.

"The Perfect Birthday Recipe" is the fourth and final story in Katy Hudson's best-selling set of seasonal picture books, including Too Many Carrots, A Loud Winter's Nap, and The Golden Acorn. The illustration are fabulous, full of expression, detail and colour. I highly recommend this book.

Hudson delivers another terrific picture book for preschoolers. As always her illustrations are engaging, the text flows smoothly, and she writes about what kids care about most- Birthdays! Kids will fall in love with Beaver who wants the perfect birthday and has a hard time letting go when his friends want to throw him their own party. For older preschoolers, this would be a great read before a birthday to help set expectations for their big day. And younger readers will be delighted with the 200 carrot cake and the pickled worm in the cake batter.

Not groundbreaking but a book preschoolers will love and identify with.

The Perfect Birthday Recipe, story and illustrations by Katy Hudson was absolutely adorable. I felt completely transported into Beaver’s world with his furry and reptilian friends thanks to all of the perky, colorful illustrations with mounting details of his den and recipe book. I thought the story, like the pictures, was sweet and to the point with a wonderful theme and lesson to be learned. The only downside I would say was that there could have been more dialogue between the characters, especially as there were numerous illustrations to go with the words.
Children will fall in love with the pictures and the perfectionist that is Beaver and all of his animal friends in The Perfect Birthday Recipe.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Birthday Recipe was a sweet story about what perfect really looks like. We all know someone (or at that someone) who likes everything just so so and Beaver is that someone in this story. He tries to include others, but it just doesn't go according to his plan and that is when he loses it. But when he does everything just how he wants, he discovers it isn't so perfect after all. That there really is something missing.
I love the beginning and end pages of this book. The illustrations were magnificent and it was a well put together story.

What an adorable book! Beaver is very Type A, which doesn't bode well for him when his friends take it upon themselves to help him bake a birthday cake from a recipe he has spent countless hours perfecting. Things don't go as planned, Beaver has a bit of a fit, then realizes that celebrating with friends is the most important part of a birthday.

I've read the same story, in different books, many times over. The concept isn't new. What makes this book a little different is the neurotic Beaver character and the darling illustrations.

Adorable pictures and scenes! Love the story and the whole book was amazing! Would highly recommend:!!

A beautiful story about Beaver and his friends. The illustrations are stunning and complemented the story well. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Katy Hudson, NetGalley, and Capstone Editions for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story is a wonderful story and has an important message that even adults can benefit from. The imagery is wonderful and the message is a positive reminder. Great story! (Thank you to the company for allowing me to read this for free. My views are my own.)

This was an adorable book with beautiful, detailed illustrations. The character, Beaver, wants everything to be perfect for his birthday and he gets very upset with his friends for trying to help and ruining things for him. He is upset and sends his friends away so he can do it right, by himself. He soon realizes, however, that doing it alone is no fun and his friends return to celebrate with him.
The book was perfect for my 6 and 8 year old. They both enjoyed the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Darling picture book! Beaver learns a valuable lesson. It will be a very good starting point of discussion in the classroom or at home. It could also help teach the CC writing of opinion pieces. The illustrations are sweet!

*thank you to Netgalley, Capstone and Katy Hudson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Ohh my lord YES! This book made me laugh and feel quite deep love for it. Probably because I can relate to it so much. Beaver is a perfectionist. When his friends hear about him having made up a design for the most perfect cake he could think of for his Birthday, (and wow what a cake!), they all wanted to help him with making it. Only, when you are a perfectionist, you want.....well actually kinda need things to be done a certain way. Clearly his forest friends aren't quite the same. The cake doesn't quite turn out how Beaver planned, but what also happens is what conclusion Beaver comes to by the end of the story. 

The love I felt through this was as real as anything. It was such a sweet story with a powerful punch of a message that you don't need to be a perfectionist to be able to understand. The illustrations are also gorgeous to look at. The colours are pretty appealing. Highly recommend this!

Beaver is a perfectionist. His birthday is here and he wants to to be perfect. His friends want to help him and when they do chaos ensues.

Beaver quickly learns that sometimes we need to be more mindful of others feelings and appreciate the help we get.

Cute story. Adorable drawing. Great message.

The Perfect Birthday Recipe by Katy Hudson – This book is colorful and fun, and it shows how lonely being a perfectionist and control freak can be. Beaver’s birthday was much more fun when his friends were there to share it! This book releases March 2, 2020.


http://seventhingstosay.blog/2019/09/11/7seven-new-pictures-books-in-2019-2020/

I love this series and colorful cast of character so much! The illustrations are adorable as always and the story is sweet and cute ends with a nice message about friendship and the perils of wanting everything to be perfect all the time.

What makes for a perfect birthday? Is it perfection that makes it perfect? Young listeners will enjoy finding out the answer to that question as they find out about beaver's big day.

Beaver wants the perfect birthday cake and he has the perfect recipe for it. His friends want to help and things do not go as Beaver planned. How does he react? What happens? What is most important? Children will know when they finish the story.

This book is for toddlers and preschoolers. It will gently help them to think about what matters. Adults will know the predictable answer but young children may not.

The illustrations that accompany the book are detailed and playful. They definitely enhance the story while adding humor.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in exchange for an honest review.

This was adorably perfect from the illustrations to the story itself. In fact I loved it so much that I got onto my library website and requested every book they have from this author to see what other gems she wrote!

Castoro ama la precisione: tutto viene preparato, organizzato e pianificato nel minimo dettaglio.

Adesso si avvicina il suo compleanno, e Castoro ha pronta la ricetta della Torta Perfetta: ha lavorato per giorni per costruirla, e non vede l'ora di festeggiare... alla perfezione!

Ma i suoi amici non possono certo tirarsi indietro, e decidono di prendere le cose nelle loro zampe. Certo, non sono precisi, perfezionisti e organizzati... 

Il compleanno perfetto è davvero quello che Castoro aveva immaginato?

Un'altra meravigliosa avventura riccamente illustrata degli amici della foresta, il cui messaggio saggio e intelligente viene trasmesso con ironia e una storia divertente.

Adorabile. <3

I love all of Katy Hudson’s books! This one is about a beaver that wants to make the perfect cake for his birthday. His friends want to help and ruin everything. They put too many ingredients in and it looks nothing like what Beaver wanted. This is a great book about friendship, cooperation and acceptance.

I was given a copy of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Birthday Recipe is, in fact, perfect. We can all relate to Beaver's perfectionism and anxiety. The story is handled with humor and honesty and my little boy adored it. The illustrations are whimsical, beautiful, and done with such care, that I'm sure they would meet with even Beaver's high expectations.

Long after we finished reading, my son continued to pour over the pictures and asked if there were more books. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with small children.