The Birthday Room

August 6, 2001
In a starred review, PW
wrote, "Two gifts on a boy's 12th birthday fortuitously bring an entire family closer together. Once again, Henkes explores family relationships with breathtaking tenderness, showing how feelings of guilt, bitterness and fear can be quelled by more deeply rooted love." Ages 8-12.

Starred review from September 27, 1999
Two gifts on a boy's 12th birthday fortuitously bring an entire family closer together. Young Benjamin likes to draw and paint, but when his parents give him a present of a room to use as a studio, he feels pressured into becoming an artist. He is enthralled by his second gift: a letter from his Uncle Ian in Oregon, inviting Ben to come for a visit. Ben's mother, however, is not so enthralled; she still blames her younger brother for a wood-shop accident that caused Ben to lose a finger at age two. Not until Ben tells her, "If I had to choose, I'd take the trip over the room," does she consent to the visit. As Ben spends time in Oregon with his mother, Uncle Ian, Ian's expectant wife, Nina, and the Deeter children who live nearby, he makes some important discoveries about his family and himself, and eventually finds a special purpose for his "birthday room." Once again, Henkes (Sun and Spoon; Protecting Marie) explores family relationships with breathtaking tenderness, showing how feelings of guilt, bitterness and fear can be quelled by more deeply rooted love. His understated narrative from Ben's perspective has a translucent quality that allows readers to discover the subtle dynamics among the adult characters right along with Ben. The characters here, especially Ben and the Deeter children, will be cherished. Ages 10-up.

July 1, 1999
Gr. 5^-7. For his twelfth birthday, Ben Hunter receives a room that he can use as an art studio and a letter from his uncle--the one responsible for the loss of Ben's little finger when Ben was a toddler. The room seems overwhelming to Ben, as if he must make art to live up to it. But the letter, which contains an invitation from his uncle to come visit, holds more allure. Mrs. Hunter, who has been angry at her brother since the accident, reluctantly agrees to go to Oregon with Ben. Once there, Ben finds himself adrift in the storm of emotions that surround his Uncle Ian and his mother, his new aunt, Nina, and the baby she is about to have. When an accident occurs and the young brother of a new friend is hurt, Ben feels partially to blame, and he learns that making amends is one of the most important lessons life has to offer. This is a quiet story, gracefully written but with a focus on the adult characters that may distance it from young readers. On a more practical level, readers may wonder about the ability of two 12-year-olds to build the redemptive gift, a hut in the forest. In some ways as much allegory as contemporary tale, this story will find an audience among children who are sensitive to nuance and willing to ponder such eternal issues as family and forgiveness, and how both are forged by bonds of love. ((Reviewed July 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)

October 1, 1999
Gr 5-7-On his 12th birthday, Ben's parents give him a present that he's not sure he wants-a room of his own to use as an art studio. He knows for certain, however, that he wants to accept his other birthday surprise-an invitation to visit from his estranged Uncle Ian. Ben's mother blames her brother for an accident that occurred when Ben was a toddler, which left the boy minus a pinkie. Henkes's cerebral, analytical style and his penchant for observation work better when he is exploring a character's interior landscape, as he did so well in Sun and Spoon (Greenwillow, 1997). Here, they are not as successful in moving the plot forward, and some of the descriptive detail seems gratuitous. Ben is a convincing, well-adjusted only child, apparently not traumatized by the loss of his finger, who shows potential for developing into a talented artist. He is torn between being his own person and trying to live up to his loving parents' expectations. The tension between Ben's mother and his uncle, and the steps toward its resolution, are dealt with offstage. Other small, but not particularly compelling, crises include Ian's pregnant wife's concern about a breech birth and the injury of a young neighbor for which Ben feels responsible. When Ben returns home, he has decided that the birthday room should become a guest room, ready to welcome his newfound extended family. Although the story's various threads fall short of forming a gracefully woven tapestry, Henkes does create a memorable character in Ben.-Corinne Camarata, Port Washington Public Library, NY

Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2000
When Ben's proud parents surprise him with his own studio, the gifted young painter feels trapped by their expectations; after all, he's only twelve. The question of this room frames events during a week with Mom's estranged brother, who was responsible for Ben's loss of a finger at age two. Told in spare, unobtrusive prose, the story helps us see our own chances for benefiting from mutual tolerance, creative conflict resolution, and other forms of good will.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)