Birthdays

Children’s Book Birthday Party

When it came to picking a theme for my daughter’s birthday party, we thought about her interests, and the main activity she loves above all else is reading. Translating that into a fun, entertaining birthday party for kids took me a minute. In the end, I think I came up with an easy and inexpensive book birthday for kids that everyone enjoyed.

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Contents hide

1 Decorations

2 Activities

2.1 DIY Bookmark Station

2.2 Book Jeopardy

3 Cake

4 Favors

Decorations

Each year, I try to use fewer decorations at birthday parties because I don’t want to create more waste. I have found that guests don’t really care that much about decor and reducing it saves a ton of money and time.

We did hang up this cute banner and the best part is she now has it hanging in her bedroom!

Activities

DIY Bookmark Station

I picked up cute and inexpensive bookmark kits from Target that, unfortunately, aren’t on its website anymore. But you can find similar kits on Etsy or Amazon. If you are creative, you could easily make an even better bookmark station yourself.

The kids loved coloring the bookmarks and adding a few beads to the tassel before stringing it through.

Tip: Make sure the bookmark itself is made of strong paper to be able to support the weight of the beads.

Book Jeopardy

The hit of the party was the Jeopardy game. My daughter wanted to play it again after the party even though she now knew all the answers.

Tri-Fold Board

Index Cards

Gold Thumbtacks – Dollar Tree

Here are the categories, plus the questions and answers I came up with;

*Please keep in mind I tailored the questions to a party of mostly 8-year-olds in 2026. I know what they read. I volunteer in the school library and know what’s popular. The children at the party only missed two questions total (the Narnia question and the bonus question about the colors of the caps).

Famous Characters

(100) This young wizard attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and has a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. – Harry Potter
(200) Wants to drive a bus, stay up late, and eat a hot dog. – Pigeon
(300) This half-canine, half-human officer creates a lot of trouble for Lil’ Petey and Mayor in his wildly popular graphic novel series. – Dog Man
(400) This sassy, funny elementary schooler always uses her middle initial, which stands for “Beatrice”. – Junie B. Jones
(500) In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, what is the name of Greg Heffley’s loyal, gullible, and occasionally embarrassing best friend? – Rowley Jefferson

Story Details

(100) What famous item does Cinderella accidentally leave behind at the royal ball? – a glass slipper
(200) Number of plums the hungry caterpillar ate on Wednesday – 3
(300) In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what special color is the winning ticket that allows Charlie to visit Willy Wonka’s factory? – golden
(400) The color of Harold’s crayon – purple
(500) Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy step through the back of what piece of bedroom furniture to enter the magical land of Narnia? – a wardrobe

Fantastic Beasts

(100) This “silly old bear” loves to eat honey and lives in the Hundred Acre Wood with his friend Piglet. – Winnie the Pooh
(200) This monkey is always accompanied by a man with a yellow hat – Curious George
(300) He is a lovable, clumsy, and very large red dog who belongs to a girl named Emily Elizabeth. – Clifford
(400) This clever spider saves a pig named Wilbur from being eaten by weaving words like “Some Pig” into her web. – Charlotte
(500) Mango and Brash are two of these types of sneaky reptiles who travel through the sewers to solve mysteries. – Alligators

Classic Tales

(100) In this bedtime classic, a little bunny tucked in bed says goodnight to a red balloon, a bowl of mush, and a quiet old lady whispering “hush”. – Goodnight Moon
(200) A little mouse asks for a snack, and then he wants a napkin, a glass of milk, and a look in the mirror. – If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
(300) “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines / Lived 12 little girls in two straight lines…” – Madeline
(400) The letters of the alphabet get stuck in a tree – Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
(500) A train, a hill, and a will to achieve – The Little Engine That Could

Popular Titles

(100) This hilarious graphic novel series features a wolf, a shark, a piranha, and a snake who try to be good guys – The Bad Guys
(200) Jack and Annie travel through time to visit dinosaurs, ninjas, and castles using this backyard structure. – The Magic Tree House
(300) Princess Magnolia wears frilly dresses, but when monsters attack, she transforms into this hammer-wielding hero. – The Princess in Black
(400) A little pig with a passion for buttered toast constantly causes her polite owners to shout her name in panic. – Mercy Watson [to the Rescue]
(500) Roz adopts an orphaned gosling named Brightbill. – The Wild Robot

(Daily Double Question) The four colors of caps available in Caps for Sale. – Gray, Brown, Blue, and Red

When a team got a question correct, I handed them the index card with the point value written on it. At the end of the game, each team totaled up their points to determine the winner. The winning team got to select their books first to put in their favor bags.

Before the party, my children and I went book shopping and picked out enough books for each child at the party to be able to take home at least two books. This was only possible because we live near Books4School, where the public can also shop for books at reduced prices. We came away with a haul!

We also had a book-themed temporary tattoo station, but I was not impressed by the quality of the product. I can’t recommend the tattoos, so I won’t link them.

For the rest of the party, we played at the playground where we held the party which was ideal. We lucked out with perfect weather.

Other options for a book-themed birthday party could be to watch a movie based on a popular book, play a game, craft, or scavenger hunt based on a specific book or series, or bedazzle book covers.

Cake

My daughter wanted cupcakes for her party, which was perfect because I could easily transport them in my cupcake carrier (similar product). I used this vanilla cupcake recipe with this strawberry frosting recipe (using the freeze-dried strawberries).

To make the cupcakes book-themed I added these toppers.

Favors

Again, I am not a fan of waste and I can’t stand cheap plastic junk that most birthday favor bags are filled with. So for this reading birthday party I kept it simple; each child got a bag of “book worms” and 1-2 books to take home (see “Activity” section).

Clearly, I am not an artist but I saw an image of thank-you bags with books drawn on them and I gave it my best shot.

Kids could either choose a bag of sweet or sour gummy worms. I used snack-sized plastic bags and quickly made this “Book Worms” template on Canva. Then I printed out numerous sheets, cut them out, and stapled them over the top of the plastic bags after I had filled them.

I hope this post has given you a few ideas to help you plan a book birthday party. If you are looking for more birthday party ideas, take a look at some of the other parties we have thrown;

Mehgan