Nana's Birthday Party

Book excerpt: Every year, Nana throws herself a grand birthday party, with relatives from all over the city and her special birthday rules tacked to the door: NO JEANS, NO Gum, and NO PRESENTS, EXCEPT THE KIND YOU MAKE YOURSELF. Best of all, Maggie and her cousin Brette have a sleepover at Nana's the night before. This year, Maggie is determined to make something special for Nana -- far more special, she hopes, than Brette's gorgeous paintings, the ones that hang in real frames over Nana's fireplace. Amy Hest and Amy Schwartz are the author and illustrator of The Crackof-Dawn Walkers, The Purple Coat, and Fancy Aunt Jess -- warm and funny stories about families. In their latest collaboration, readers will meet two spirited cousins and their irrepressible grandmother on the eve of the most memorable birthday party ever.