Three Cheers For Catherine The Great

Written by Cari Best

Narrated by Ekaterina Gordeeva

Sara's feisty Russian grandmother asks for "no presents" for her birthday - and gets them - one from each neighbor, one from Mama and a special one from Sara to teach Grandma to read and write English.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Weston Woods
• Release date: Jan 1, 2001
• ISBN: 9780545787444

Cari Best

Cari Best has written many award-winning picture books, including Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; and My Three Best Friends and Me, described by the New York Times as “refreshing” and “exciting.” Her picture book If I Could Drive, Mama was described by Publishers Weekly as “a wonderful tribute to an imagination in perpetual motion.” In the Country of Queens is her first novel. Ms. Best lives in Connecticut.

Reviews for Three Cheers For Catherine The Great

[ecarlson2014 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book tells the story of a Russian woman who came to the United States from Russia. It shows her later in life with a family and specifically a granddaughter. The grandmother doesn't want any presents for her birthday, so her granddaughter gives her a non present for her birthday, to teach her grandmother English.

[sulick1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It displayed the themes of immigration and family, and how sometimes giving of oneself is the best kind of gift to give. It would be relatable to readers who are also immigrants to America, specifically Russian. The family in the book was Russian and the writing and pictures included some Russian words. However, this book would be relatable to anyone with a close-knit family with family traditions. This book displays a family coming together to celebrate their grandmother’s birthday, but by honoring her without presents. At first the main character, who is young, did not understand how someone could enjoy a birthday without presents. She quickly realizes that instead of giving her grandmother a materialistic good, she wants to help her learn how to read and write English. This shows readers that giving of your time and efforts means more than simply buying a gift and giving it to someone. Also, it shows how family and time with one another is more valuable than items. The illustrations are incredible, depicting scenes of the entire family gathering and preparing for Grandma Catherine’s big birthday. The purpose of this story was to highlight Russian-American culture and spread the message that family is more important than materialistic wealth.

[matthewbloome · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a great story and it connects to immigration in an unusual way. Also, it's a story of compassion and I really liked that. I reminded me of something that Patricia Polacco would write in some ways very nice story though.

[ermilligan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The lesson of this story is when Sara learns that there is more to celebrations and birthdays than just gifts, and that it is a lot more meaningful to spend time with your loved ones and remember where you came from. This book is a good example about how material things are not important.