Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!

My grand daughter catherine found this book at the local library and loved it. I got it for her and she is delighted with the story and loves the character. A wonderful story for young and old to share.

Some picture books find a variety of different ways to incorporate words from other languages into their text and pictures. For example, Simms Taback's, "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat" cleverly combines Hebrew texts and pictures throughout the story. I expected something similar with Cari Best's, "Three Cheers For Catherine the Great!" so I wasn't surprised when I came across pages where Russian script dots books and writings. Though the cover illustration of this book initially gave me half a moment's concern (the characters in this story all sport thick eyebrows and slitted eyes that make them look more than a little devious) I found the story to be warm, inviting, and just a mite bit touching. It's a beautiful tribute to one granddaughter's love of her grandmother. Sara has a slight problem. It's her grandmother Catherine's birthday and the elder woman has made a very odd request. For her party she has made it very clear that she would like a party of "no presents". When confused by this request, Sara's mom explains that, "A good NO PRESENT can by anything from a kiss or a hug to a game of gin rummy". This makes more sense to Sara, but she has some difficulty coming up with something. After all, her downstairs neighbors know what they'll do. So do her upstairs neighbors. Finally, our heroine figures it out. She knows the perfect gift to give to her grandmother. One that will keep on giving and giving long after her birthday's past. The book summarizes neatly the experience many immigrants went through to come to the United States. Catherine, it is explained, was known as Ekaterina and was renamed once she arrived in America. Kids are allowed to draw their own conclusions on whether or not THAT was a good idea. There's a nice bit of give and take between the neighbors of Sarah and Catherine herself. I liked the relationship between the hair stylist father and his young daughter, for example. The book seemed to display a gay father and his offspring in a clear accepting light. The pictures in this story slowly grow on you. Without reading the book they're initially a bit shocking. Characters are never more frightening than when they smile, for some reason. Yet these illustrations by Giselle Potter contain a great deal of love and affection in them. From the cut-away expansive shots that reveal what each character is doing in his or her apartment to the playful illustrations of Sara playing Gypsy dress-up with her grandmother, these are calm lovely images. I recently read "Abuela" by Arthur Dorros, a story that is also about the close relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter. Though this story lacks the visual punch of Dorros' creation, it contains the same touching affection between two vastly different generations. For any family in which the grandparents are from another land, this book would make for fine reading. For anyone else, it's just a well-written interesting story.

The 4 year old I am a nanny to has asks me to read this to her over and over and I am happy to because it is so charming. It is grandmas birthday and she wants "no presents". By the end of the story she is given things of real value by her family like a poem, a dance and best of all, the gift of a new language. It holds a wonderful sentiment for kids. But, don't expect miracles....when I asked the little girl if we should make her 5th birthday a "no present" birthday she quickly said, "NO!"A must have for any kids library.

This book was recommended to me by two people that I work with. I thought the title was kind of cheesy, but I finally did read it, and I am happy I did. The story is that of a young girl, named Sara, who is looking for the perfect "no-present" for her Russian grandmother. In this search, Sara reflects on many of the wonderful things about her grandmother, and finally comes up with a "no-present" for her grandmother, "Catherine the Great".The story is not just about Sara's search, but also brings into light some of the characters' histories. Grandma is "Catherine" because when they came to America, "Ekaterina" just seemed too odd. Even in this "New World", grandma has managed to keep much of her Russian-ness about her, speaking in Russian and keeping Russian traditions. Sara is definitely more "American", but still loves her grandmother very much, and has an interest in keeping some of her heritage about herself as well.I very much enjoyed the occasional phrases in Russian. I know to many people, these are unreadable and extraneous, but they are very sweet if you are fortunate enough to be able to read them.

A heartwarming story for all ages about people who give the greatest gifts of all - their kindness and sharing of their unique God-given talents.