Happy birthday Hugless Douglas by David Melling

Hachette, 2014. ISBN 9781444913262.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Birthdays, Twins. Hugless Douglas is really looking forward to his birthday and his birthday party. He is given a heap of presents by his many friends, and is eager to open them when his twin cousins appear with the biggest present he has seen. Felix and Mash rush inside and open all the presents they can find, leaving Douglas to feel left out. He likes opening presents but they open them before he is able to get to them. Their present is unwrapped fiercely revealing a doctor's trolley.
With his favourite day taken over by the noisy twins, Douglas goes outside to play on his new pogo stick, but falls off. His friends race inside and grab the doctor's trolley, telling Douglas that they will fix him up.
Thus follows a fabulous time when the friends wrap as many bandages around Douglas as they can, and finding enough to wrap the others as well.
So the whole day ends in fun with everyone working together to make Douglas better again and eating all the cake offered. For Douglas what was the worst day turns out to be the best day.
This is a beautifully illustrated book about birthdays and friendships, about finding that a day is turning out all wrong, but becomes much brighter as things move on. A lovely tale to read to children when things perhaps have not turned out as they hoped, or simply a lovely story to read out loud.
Fran Knight