Did you guys know that August is the most popular birth month? It’s true. As someone who loves birthdays (both mine and other people’s), I think that makes August pretty special. It also makes August an apt time to talk about Sam Is Six (cover pictured), a book I wrote because of my love of birthdays.

This book from the My Reading Neighborhood series follows the cast of Reading Neighborhood characters as they celebrate Sam’s sixth birthday. The gang plays games. They eat cake. They watch as Sam enthusiastically opens his presents and blows out his candles.

Like all My Reading Neighborhood titles, the story incorporates words from the Dolch Sight Words list to build literacy skills. It uses sentences that follow a predictable pattern to introduce kids to the rhythm of language. The beautiful artwork by Shelley Dieterichs also supports readers by clearly illustrating the text that appears on each page.

I hope Sam Is Six offers young readers a fun and satisfying early-reading experience—and that it encourages them down the path of lifelong reading. If that happened for even just one kid…well, then I’d be so excited, you just might think it was my birthday.