GN: Karen's Birthday

[shannon86]

[sparklymouse]

It’s early in the morning, and this really confused me for a moment. Two of her look like The Shining, lol. The present in the middle lines up almost perfectly.

[shannon86]

Got My Copy Today!

[Honeybee]

I’m on the waiting list, to read Karen’s Birthday.

[sparklymouse]

This was cute because it had a lot of good visuals. Karen was also very sad in much of this, so we got tons of pictures of her crying. We saw the infamous stuffed ostrich that everyone was all huh??? about her wanting. We saw Andrew’s playground for Emily Jr. (It was all cardboard! She was going to chew it up in a day!)


There weren’t a ton of changes from the original. Karen had to ask Lisa to use her cell phone to call Kristy. The big house had a home line. This brings up an interesting dilemma for future books. Karen loved talking on the phone. I don’t recall how many phone plots happened at the little house, but she called Nancy constantly.

Nannie’s little speech to Karen was tweaked I think in a good way. The original:

“Your mommy and daddy aren’t mad at each other. Just a little cross. And they’re very busy. They each have their own family now. Plus we have Emily Michelle, and your mommy has her job. Even if that weren’t true, though, I’m not sure that bringing your two families together would be a good idea. They are two families for a reason. Seth and Elizabeth would feel uncomfortable around each other. No, it’s just not a good idea. And it isn’t going to happen, Karen. I’m sorry, but it isn’t.”

The update:

“Oh, Karen. Your mommy and daddy aren’t mad at each other. They’re just a little cross right now. It will pass. And they’re very busy. They each have their own family now. Your mommy and daddy have jobs. Even if that weren’t true, though, I’m not sure bringing your two families together would be a good idea. They are two families for a reason. Your mommy and daddy aren’t the right person for each other anymore. They have new partners who they love. Even though they are happier as separate families, feelings sometimes can still get hurt when people come together. I’m sorry, Karen. I know you’re disappointed, but I don’t think a big party is a good idea.”

I thought the picture at the end when Lisa and Seth came into the house was funny. These were 4 people who were supposed to be super uncomfortable around each other.  Lisa and Elizabeth have their arms wide open for hugs, Watson and Seth are grinning from ear to ear, Karen’s shrieking with excitement, and the Thomas kids are huddled in the background looking terrified.