Lionel cannot wait for his birthday to come. He counts down the days for it. He expects to look much older. He asks his sister for a jet-pack for his birthday. However, she explains that she cannot get him a jet-pack because then it would not be a surprise. Since he has never blown all of his candles out at once before after making a wish, he makes sure he does this year. He does, and realizes that his wish did come true; his sister got him a jet-pack after all.
I enjoyed this book because I thought it was very cute, with an adorable ending. This is considered contemporary realistic ficion because all young children cannot wait for their birthdays to come. I know I couldn't! Lionel in this book reminded me of myself at a young age- wishing for off-the-wall wishes to come true!
This book could be read to a classroom in celebration of a student's birthday. Also, even though this is a VERY simple book to read, it actually has chapters included in it. This could be a transition for young readers into long, chapter books from basic books..