My darling daughter’s birthday is in August. A lot of my relatives and friends have August birthdays. My curiosity about this apparent birthday boom led me to research which months are most popular for birthdays; they are September, August and July, in that order. Actually, once you do the math, it’s really about which months are most popular for baby making. Not surprisingly, winter weather and holidays lend themselves to cozying up with someone and letting nature take its course.

This blog post is about “b”s. Not about the bird and the bees, but about birthdays. Birthdays are such potent symbols in our lives, for good or ill, for celebration or sadness. Birthdays represent, in a single day, the connection between yesterday and tomorrow. Farewell and hello. What a great source of inspiration for memorable literature. Here is a list of books where a birthday lays the groundwork or becomes the catalyst for a great story:

Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
The Three Sisters – Anton Chekhov
The Fellowship of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Birthday Party – Harold Pinter
Wise Children – Angela Carter
Atonement – Ian McEwan
Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
The Line of Beauty – Alan Hollinghurst

Want to treat a child to a good birthday-themed book? Consider one of these:

A Bear Called Paddington – Michael Bond
Happy Birthday, Moon – Frank Asch
Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday – Mélanie Watt
Mr. Badger and the Big Surprise – Leigh Hobbs
The Secret Birthday Message – Eric Carle

For those of you reading this on your birthday, Happy Birthday. And to the rest, a very Happy Un-Birthday!