Floppy and Fuzzy Bear: The Birthday - Hardcover

Floppy Bear loves birthdays. Fuzzy Bear loves cake. One celebration is about to become a delicious little misunderstanding.

Floppy loves birthdays so much that he has decided to have one today. There is a polka-dotted hat with a pink pom-pom. There is a big and bearish cake with two whole bananas stuck to the side, peels and all. There is, of course, a song to sing.

But Floppy has bearly begun singing before the cake disappears.

"Surely this cake is for eating right away!" thought Fuzzy.

What follows is a funny, tender story about friendship, sharing, and the very good reason Fuzzy has for eating the whole thing. Or nearly the whole thing.

For anyone who still holds a place for Corduroy, or who has wished for one more afternoon with George and Martha or Frog and Toad, Floppy and Fuzzy Bear are two best friends whose ordinary days turn funny, warm, and just a little bit silly.

Written for ages 2 to 7, The Birthday reads aloud in about five minutes, making it just right for a birthday morning, a bedtime, a classroom carpet, or a present that does not need a reason.

Author Michael Vuolo has taught in New York City public elementary schools for more than a decade, and illustrator Stephanie Gouveia painted every spread by hand in watercolor. Vuolo has read this one to his own fourth graders. The bananas held up.

The Birthday is the first book in the Floppy and Fuzzy Bear series, where friendship, small adventures, and very big bear opinions are always close at hand. Their stories continue in The Peas and The Furstyle, both available now, with The Bearcade on the way.

Because any day is a good day to have a birthday.