A birthday party sets the scene in this sweet and relatable story for anyone who’s ever been the odd girl out. It’s Ginger’s birthday, and she has to invite all the girls in her class to her party, including Lyla Browning. Lyla isn’t like the other girls: she smells like old leaves, doesn’t talk much, and once brought a tarantula to school for show-and-tell. On the day of the party, Lyla is much earlier than everyone else. But even after the others arrive, Ginger’s party doesn’t go quite the way she’d hoped: some of the girls change the rules to the games, and no one likes her silver and gold birthday cake — except Lyla. By the time Lyla gives Ginger her present — a tiny homemade nest with two delicious malted-milk eggs — Ginger begins to wonder: is being different really such a bad thing? PreS-Gr 2—Ginger's mom tells her to invite all the girls in her class to her birthday party or none of them. Reluctantly, Ginger consents, even though it means that oddball Lyla Browning, who smells like old leaves and brings a tarantula to show-and-tell, will be in attendance. As it turns out, the other girls play games by different rules, and Ginger's favorite cake flavor—pineapple and coconut—proves to be far less than a hit. Lyla is the only guest whose preferences and sensibilities mesh with those of the hostess, and a gift of two malted-milk eggs in a homemade nest marks the beginning of a true friendship. Penciled figures keep the facial expressions simple, while the gouache illustrations soften digital collage elements like the playground pavement, the tablecloth, and patterned couch, complementing the expected but sweet and satisfying story.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library As Ginger’s birthday approaches, she looks forward to her party. Faced with the choice of inviting all of the girls in her class (even weird Lyla Browning) or none, she asks them all. But at the party, the classmates Ginger had wanted to include do the most annoying things: peeking during Blindman’s Bluff, starting the three-legged race without her, and turning up their noses at her favorite cake. Ginger’s biggest birthday surprise is that her favorite guest is Lyla, who becomes her friend. The nicely paced story creates a series of small moments that make Ginger’s emotional shifts seem natural and inevitable. Created with pencil, gouache, and digital collage in a simple style, the expressive illustrations capture awkward, sad, tender, funny, and happy times with equal facility. In an early scene, Ginger and Lyla sit at opposite ends of a long couch, while near the story’s end, they both sit mid-couch as Ginger opens Lyla’s perfect present. A fine picture book for reading aloud. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan In a nod to geek pride, illustrator Mann, in her debut as an author, doesn’t portray Lyla as a needy, sad wallflower—instead, Lyla is entirely self-assured and independent (though she’s also open to making a new friend in Ginger). Mann understands well how peers can disappoint and parties can go wrong, and her scraggly-lined drawings, filled in with washes of soft color and set against white backgrounds, give a strong sense of Ginger’s emotional vulnerability and the unanticipated possibilities offered by Lyla’s friendship. —Publishers Weekly The nicely paced story creates a series of small moments that make Ginger’s emotional shifts seem natural and inevitable. Created with pencil, gouache, and digital collage in a simple style, the expressive illustrations capture awkward, sad, tender, funny, and happy times with equal facility. ... A fine picture book for reading aloud. —Booklist Mann’s pencil, gouache and digital collage illustrations keep the focus on the girls, their bright clothes and accessories standing out against the white background. ... Readers may not look at their classmates the same again. —Kirkus Reviews Penciled figures keep the facial expressions simple, while the gouache illustrations soften digital collage elements like the playground pavement, the tablecloth, and patterned couch, complementing the expected but sweet and satisfying story. —School Library Journal The illustrations, pencil and gouache with a few digital elements and collage-type layering, has a wide airiness, with even the full-bleed scenes gleaming with white space, and spare dot-and-squiggle features turning big balloon kid heads into faces. Lyla gently stands out from the springily colored crowd in her more saturated brown outfit and glasses, underscoring the text’s championing of individuality. ... Young Gingers may benefit from a reminder that when it comes to inclusion, moms know what they’re talking about. —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books This is a kindhearted story about unexpected friendships and a celebration of being unique. Through the use of digital collage, pastel colors, and rounded images, Mann’s characters and scenes pop and invite the reader to the birthday party. —Library Media Connection 'Two Speckled E