ALA Booklist

In this warm, friendship story, a "very kind mouse" embarks on a generous journey to deliver a birthday cake to his dear friend, Little Bird. Along the way, Mouse runs into Chicken, Squirrel, Bear, and Cow, all of whom offer to trade various items for a delicious piece of cake. Mouse's good nature, excellent manners, and naïveté are all on display as he accumulates a basketful of seemingly useless items (a fly swatter, a cork, etc.) and gives away, piece by piece, a very special cake. "Surely Little Bird would not mind." Luckily, Little Bird uses her ingenuity and, together with Mouse's compassion, the friends create the perfect ingredients that they need to save the day and have cake for all. Captured in warm and bright illustrations that anthropomorphize animal friends, this story about doing the right thing and the power of friendship is a strong choice for story hours and classroom read-alouds.

Kirkus Reviews

Bringing his friend a birthday surprise isn't exactly a piece of cake for Mouse. Mouse bakes a delicious birthday cake for his friend, Little Bird, but as he takes the walk to deliver it to Little Bird's house, various animals along the way entice him to share pieces with them. In return, they offer him miscellaneous tokens of thanks. He feels bad when he arrives at Little Bird's house with a cork from Chicken, a wire from Squirrel, a butterfly net from Bear and a flyswatter from Cow, but Little Bird has a big plan. It turns out each animal who was eager to swap something for cake needs something that another animal traded. By fulfilling these needs, Little Bird and Mouse obtain ingredients to make a new cake—milk from Cow, honey from Bear, nuts from Squirrel and eggs from Chicken. The fun comes with the surprising solutions that Little Bird and Mouse offer: They don't give Bear a flyswatter to shoo away the bees swarming near the honey he's collected, for example; they give him the cork to plug up the hive. (Here's hoping Bear removes it when he leaves, or that's the last honey he'll be collecting.) Digitally colored pencil illustrations lack the sketchy, expressive charm of Pham's Big Sister, Little Sister (2005) and instead adopt a flat, humorous cartoonish quality that's reminiscent of some of illustrator Peter Brown's work. A treat of a birthday picture book. (Picture book. 3-7)

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Kind Mouse uses up his baking supplies making a birthday cake for Little Bird, but Mouse trades all the slices with friends for various random items (e.g., cork, flyswatter). Clever Little Bird is able to barter for cake ingredients in a creative way and everyone can celebrate. Pham's entertaining story about generosity is buoyed by her friendly illustrations.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Pham tries out a new look for this birthday-themed story-her animal characters would fit right in with J.P. Miller-s The Little Red Hen and other Little Golden Book favorites. While the aesthetic may be proudly retro and the plot trajectory familiar, clever and funny twists subvert expectations every step of the way. The story follows Mouse to Little Bird-s home as he attempts to deliver a homemade birthday cake. Along the way, Mouse meets four animals who want to trade items with him for a slice of cake. Chicken, surrounded by eggs, naturally offers Mouse... a cork. Cow has bottles of milk to spare, but wants to trade... a flyswatter. Pham-s story comes into its own as Mouse and Little Bird return to Mouse-s house and regift each weird item in ingenious ways. Bear needs something to swat away the bees attracted to his honey pots, so Little Bird naturally offers him... the cork, just the thing to trap the bees inside their hive (sorry bees). The value of kindness, quick thinking, and a good attitude shine through. Ages 4-8. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (June)

School Library Journal (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

PreS-Gr 2 A delightful story about friendship and cooperation. Who would think a very kind mouse would have such a difficult journey delivering a cake to his bird friend for his birthday? Along the way, he meets a squirrel, a chicken, a cow, and a bear, and all want to trade something for pieces of this special treat. The mouse ends up with a cork, a wire, a net, and a flyswatterbut no cake. Little Bird, however, knows that the items will be useful to someone, and more trades are made, leaving all of the animals satisfied and with enough ingredients to make another cake. This book has broad appeal and is great for preschool storytime and for beginning readers. The whimsical cartoon illustrations in bright colors feature appealing animals set against plenty of white space, making them stand out at a distance. Susan Mcclellan, Coraopolis Memorial Library, PA