Happy Birthday from Seuss

The Birthday Honk-Honker (" Wake Up! For today is your Day of all Days") and the Great Birthday Bird ("Come on! Brush your teeth and get dressed! It's your Day of all Days! It's the Best of the Best!") get the party started in Dr. Seuss's 1959 classic Happy Birthday to You!, now available in a handsize, pop-up edition. Fun paper engineering adds even more energy to Seuss's signature illustrations. (Random, $6.99 12p all ages ISBN 0-375-82311-5; Jan.)

The Luck of the Irish

Some funny ("May your troubles be as few and far apart as my grandmother's teeth"), others serious standbys ("May the road rise to meet you./ May the wind be always at your back...."), the Irish blessings, verses and sayings in (wink, wink) Erin Gobragh's Leprechaun Luck: A Wee Book of Irish Wisdom, illus. by Catharine O'Neill, will surely elicit a smile. With whimsical watercolors and cheerful emerald endpapers, this compact offering makes a delightful St. Patrick's Day gift. (S&S, $8.95 40p all ages ISBN 0-689-85558-3; Feb.)

Series Set in the Past

Fans of historical fiction will welcome several new volumes. The third addition to Scholastic's First Person Fiction series, which chronicles the experience of coming to America (kicked off with Edwidge Danticat's Behind the Mountains and Ana Veciana-Suarez's Flight to Freedom), Minfong Ho's Gathering the Dew is told from the perspective of 12-year-old Nakri, whose life is forever changed when the Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia. (Scholastic/Orchard, $16.95 208p ages 11-15 ISBN 0-439-38197-5; Jan.)

Laurence Yep's Golden Mountain Chronicles—which traces the experiences of the Youngs, a Chinese family, over several generations in America (the publisher includes in the series Dragonwings, Dragon's Gate and Child of the Owl, among others)—continues with The Traitor, set in 1885 in Wyoming Territory. The narrative alternates between Joseph Young ("I was thirteen in Chinese years. Twelve in Western") and his American counterpart, Michael Purdy, both of whom work in the mines. (HarperCollins, $16.99 320p ages 10-up ISBN 0-06-027522-7; Feb.)

Michael, the 13-year-old captive who first appeared in Stopping to Home, returns for Seaward Born by Lea Wait. When Michael's master dies, he makes the decision to stow away on a northern-bound vessel and escape from South Carolina. (S&S/ McElderry, $16.95 160p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-689-84719-X; Jan.)

Continuing their Pirate Hunter series, Brad Strickland and Thomas E. Fuller follow up Mutiny with The Guns of Tortuga, set in the late 1600s. Here, young sailor Davey Patch is now an accepted member of the Aurora's crew, who continue their search for the pirate Jack Stelle. When Captain Hunter brings the ship to port on the titular island, he learns that British officers are being held and enlists Davey in efforts to save them. (S&S/Aladdin, $4.99 paper 160p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-689-85297-5; Mar.)

How-tos on Having Fun

A quartet of titles offer advice and how-tos for young people. Trend Friends Pajama Party Under Cover! by Cylin Busby, illus. by Jamie Bennett, opens with "Five rules for the perfect pajama party" ("Check with mom and dad" leads the list) and offers ideas for invitations and dream themes, food, games and activities. An inflatable pillow key chain is included. (Grosset & Dunlap, $6.99 paper 48p ages 8-up ISBN 0-448-42855-5 Feb.)

Come to Tea: Fun Tea Party Themes, Recipes, Crafts, Games, Etiquette and More by Stephanie Dunnewind, illus. by Capucine Mazille, suggests eight themed parties, including a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, featuring a "White Rabbit's Nibble Platter" and "The Queen's Stolen Tarts"; and Teddy Bears' Picnic Tea Party with "Beary Good Sandwiches" cut in bear shapes. Each includes ideas for invitations and decorations, recipes and games. (Sterling, $19.95 80p ages 6-10 ISBN 0-8069-7899-6; Feb.)

Budding socialites may wish to consult Don't Slurp Your Soup!: A First Guide to Letter Writing, E-mail Etiquette, and Other Everyday Manners by Lynne Gibbs, illus. by John Eastwood, the launch title in the First Guide series. The kid-friendly edition lays out the basics in a straightforward, sometimes humorous fashion, from commonsense suggestions ("Things you should never, ever do: Examine, or even eat, the contents of your nose") to more formal tips, such as how to address an envelope. (McGraw-Hill, $14.95 32p ages 6-9 ISBN 1-57768-556-3; Feb.)

Filled with cool ideas, activities, advice and words of wisdom, covering topics from hobbies and pets to Zodiac signs, the Ziga Zaga: Life Guide nails the 'tween 'tude: "Ever wondered why grown ups get so cross when you play loud music, wear the latest gear, and lie around the house all day doing nothing? They're jealous! Just because they can't do these things anymore they don't see why you should." Originally published in England, the guide unfolds—Jacob's Ladder—style—to reveal six mini-books inside the wraparound jacket/paper-over-board cover. (Sterling/Big Fish, $9.95 144p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-8069-8265-9; Feb.)

Inspiring Careers

An informative duo gives kids the skinny on the life paths of adults who have met with success. Julia Alvarez, Ken Burns, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and 20 others share their stories in Heading Out: The Start of Some Splendid Careers, ed. by Gloria Kamen. Divided into five sections (Writers; The Arts; Science; Medicine & Invention; Business and Politics; and Sports) and preceded by a brief introduction, each entry illuminates the trajectory of an author's path. Most are excerpted from autobiographies; a few are original to this edition. (Bloomsbury, $15.95 200p ages 10-up ISBN 1-58234-787-5; Jan.)

Authors by Request: An Inside Look at Your Favorite Writers! by Janis Campbell and Cathy Collison, journalists with the Detroit Free Press magazine for kids (Yak's Corner) takes a look at 12 authors, including J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paul Curtis and Brian Jacques. Each brief biography is peppered with informative sidebars such as "Personal Stuff" which lists basics like birth date and place and "Try This," with suggestions on how to get started as a writer. An inspirational quote, book list and fan mail information is included. (Beyond Words [PGW, dist.], $8.95 160p ages 9-12 ISBN 1-58270-073-7; Dec.)

In the Making

Kids looking for something fun to do will find plenty of ideas in an assortment of hands-on volumes. With crisp, retro comic illustrations, Mad Professor: Concoct Extremely Weird Science Projects by Mark Frauenfelder entices youngsters to create "Robot Food," "Goon Goo" and "Top-Secret Ink." Four sections explore polymer science, robotics, earth science and the significance of the scientific method; each experiment calls for common household items. Spiral binding and acetate pages facilitate experimentation. (Chronicle, $14.95 80p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-8118-3554-5; Feb.)

Boxes, paper bags, egg cartons and plastic bottles transform into toys and games (with a little help from readers) in Look What You Can Do with Dozens of Household Items! ed. by Kathy Ross. The spiral-bound volume contains eight (48-page) books in one, and each offers clear, concise instructions, photographs and an index. The paper-over-board jacket gives the collection a notebook feel. (Boyds Mills, $24.99 384p ages 5-12 ISBN 1-59078-058-2; Mar.)

Two cool kits will keep kids busy. The Ultimate Balloon Book & Kit by Shar Levine and Michael Ouchi comes with 24 colorful balloons, a plastic air pump and a paperback guide to 46 projects involving balloons. The guide kicks off with a discussion of materials, safety tips and basic techniques, then teaches readers how to make inflatable sculptures and decorations, wearable art and a variety of balloon-based toys and games. (Sterling/Main Street, $14.95 96p ages 8-up ISBN 1-4027-0163-2; Feb.)

First published in 1994, Juggling Step-by-Step by Bobby Besmehn is now included as part of the Juggling Step-by-Step Book and Gift Set, packaged with a trio of colorful balls. Besmehn teaches youngsters how to juggle scarves before moving on to balls, rings, pins and other objects. Easy-to-follow instructions and photos of child jugglers, complete with symbols, indicate the proper movements. (Sterling/Main Street, $9.95 96p ages 10-up ISBN 0-8069-9368-5; Mar.)

Step-by-step instructions guide readers in the creation of seven basic designs that incorporate lanyard (a slim, plastic thread—like material), including the zipper, ladder, corkscrew and slipper, plus directions for key chains and tassels, in Knot Again! A Complete Lanyard Kit! by Margaret A. Hartelius. The stapled and bound book comes with four skeins of lanyard plus two anchor hooks. Also by Hartelius, a companion volume, Knot Now! The Complete Friendship Bracelet Kit!, comes with colored string and teaches the Candy Stripe and Buddy Binder, among other designs. (Grosset & Dunlap, $8.99 each paper 24p ages 7-12 ISBN 0-448-43116-5; -43106-8; Mar.)

From the "Ice-Cream-Stick" puzzle, in which readers reconfigure sticks to free the "cherry," to the "Puzzleman" where participants are called upon "to take the 12 digits, 111, 333, 555 and 777, and form them into six numbers that, when added together, will give a sum of 20," readers get a mental workout in The World's Biggest Puzzle Book by Charles Barry Townsend. A compilation of previously published works, this weighty volume presents hundreds of riddles, word games, visual challenges and more, each accompanied by a b&w illustration. Back matter contains the answers. (Sterling, $12.95 800p ages 12-up ISBN 1-4027-0246-9; Feb.)