“I know it’s different than all of your other birthday tiaras,” Mama said. “But it just seemed so perfect for you—perfect in every way—magical, even . . .”
Amirah looked up fast. “Did you say magical? How did you know?” she asked, tracing her finger across the unicorn’s sparkly gems.
“Know what?” Mama asked.
“That I would love it,” Amirah replied.
Smiling warmly, Mama reached over and pulled Amirah into a hug. “I just had a feeling, princess. I’m glad I was right.”
As Amirah hugged her mother back, she still wasn’t sure if she really did know about Cara the Unicorn or not. If Mama did know about Cara—if she knew about the Magical Land of Birthdays—if she knew the truth about The Power of Sprinkles—
“Here,” Mama said. “Let me help you put it on.”
Amirah sat very still as Mama smoothed back her curls. Then Mama carefully positioned the tiara on Amirah’s head. It was not as heavy as she expected. Instead, the beautiful tiara felt just right.
Amirah walked across the room to look in the mirror. As she moved, the tiara didn’t budge, not even a fraction of an inch.
When she saw her reflection, Amirah couldn’t help but smile. She knew she’d spend days—weeks—maybe even months—recalling the memories of her incredible adventures in the Magical Land of Birthdays with her B-Buds. She still had so many questions. There were still so many things that didn’t make sense.
Then again, Amirah realized, maybe she didn’t need to fully understand. Maybe that was part of what made it so special. After all, today was her birthday.
And birthdays are magic!
THE BIRTHDAY FUN ISN’T OVER!
Keep reading for baking tips and activities that will help you to keep living the birthday lifestyle!
BAKING TIPS FROM AMIRAH!
Food coloring is a great way to create bright, beautiful colors for icing your cakes. But remember that less is more when it comes to food coloring! You can always add more color, but you can’t take color away.
To create the perfect shade of blue frosting, start with just a few drops of blue food coloring in white icing and then stir to see how rich the color is, knowing you can always add more, one drop at a time, until you achieve the perfect color!
Icing is sticky, so you can use it like glue! Want to affix a unicorn horn made of an ice cream cone or some mouse ears made out of cookies to the top of your cake? Icing works great. Not to mention that it tastes delicious!
Sketch out your perfect cake before you decorate it so that you have a “map” to follow while decorating. This way, you can decide in advance where you want certain elements to go without having to worry about running out of room to complete your design.
Measure carefully! Baking is a science, so you want to be exact and make sure to measure your ingredients precisely!
How many flavors of birthday cake have you tried? List them!
Now list all the birthday cake flavors you would LIKE to try!
In the story, Olivia is planning a mermaid-themed birthday party, while Amirah’s birthday party will have a unicorn theme. What are the best birthday party themes you can think of? List them!
From the best birthday party themes you listed on the previous page, choose your absolute favorite theme. Now imagine that you have to create your own birthday party with that theme. What decorations will you make? What foods will you serve? What else will you do to make your party special?
What’s your best birthday memory? Write about it!
Now write about something you have done to make someone else’s birthday special. It’s okay if it hasn’t happened yet—you can also use this space to plan a birthday surprise for someone special!
One of Amirah’s favorite birthday traditions is the pancake breakfast her Baba makes for her. Do you have a favorite birthday tradition? Write about it! If not, write about a birthday tradition you would like to have!
In the story, Elvis is really good at playing music, and Mei is really good at gymnastics. What’s the thing you are really good at? Write about it.
Who are your B-Buds? Do you know anyone from school or your family who is a B-Bud? If not, ask your parent or caregiver to help you research online or at the library to find out who some of your famous B-Buds might be. List their names.
What does your dream birthday cake look like? Draw a picture of it!
What was your favorite part of the Magical Land of Birthdays? The Party Hat Mountains, Candle Cave, Rainbow Forest, or Celebration Shore? Draw a picture of how it looks in your imagination.
Amirah and her B-Buds have not explored all of the Magical Land of Birthdays yet. Imagine a new part of the land they have not seen yet, like Sparkle City. What does it look like? Draw a picture of it!
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