A little English, a little Russian, and a lot of heart make a birthday celebration you won't want to miss When Sara's grandma, Catherine the Great, suddenly announces, "This year for my birthday, I want no presents I have music in my Russian bones, and laughing in my heart. I have the day and the night, and I have all of you," Sara is surprised. How can Grandma have a birthday party with no presents?" Her mama explains that a NO PRESENT can be anything from a kiss or a hug to a game of gin rummy -- as long as it comes from deep inside you. But what kind of NO PRESENT would be good enough for Catherine the Great? Mr. Minsky, Monica, and her dad, Mary Caruso and her baby, Mimmo, already have good ideas. But it isn't until Sara is surrounded by Grandma's bundles of Russian newspapers and books that she gets her won idea: She will teach Grandma to read and write English. This lively borscht-and-blintzes birthday celebration shows that sometimes NO PRESENTS can be the best presents of all.

 E.L. Konigsburg E.L. KONIGSBURG In is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and be runner-up in the same year. In 1968, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frantweiler won the medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named Honor Book. She has also written and illustrated three picture books: Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors; Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions; and Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdale's. Her most recent book for Atheneum is a collection of her speeches and new commentary about children's books, TalkTalk: A children's book author speaks to grown-ups.

After completing her degree at Carnegie-Mellon University, Mrs. Konigsburg did graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. For several years she taught science at a private girls' school. When the third of her three children started kindergarten, she began to write. She and her husband live on the beach near Jacksonville, Florida. Their children are all married.