Starry Henna Night

Priya’s party-planning business is hired to put together a henna-night party for teenagers! Priya gets more and more nervous as she struggles to find a theme for the party. What do TEENAGERS like?! All she knows for sure is that this party will help save endangered pangolins! Can Priya create a perfect henna-night party, or will it be a flop? 

Priya jumps into her party planning by brainstorming and setting the rules for each party, such as, “Sweet Treat Rule: serve dessert!” This time, the theme is galaxy-dessert, and Priya has a hard time figuring out the party’s vibe. But with a little help from her family, friends, and social media, the party is a great success. Most of the book focuses on party planning and follows the same format as the first book in the series, Awesome Orange Birthday. While this makes Starry Henna Night predictable, it also helps readers recognize the supporting characters. 

Not all of Priya’s ideas turn out the way she imagined, but she doesn’t worry about making everything perfect. For example, when cooking the cake, one of the layers is a little lopsided. Despite this, Priya decorates it. She wonders if she should take the “wonky” cake to the party, and in the end, she does. No one notices that the cake isn’t perfect. At the end of the party, Priya is given a surprise: business cards. Through this, Priya sees that even though she doesn’t like being surprised, surprises can be fun.  

Starry Henna Night uses bright colors in its illustrations, which appear on every page. Priya makes lists that look like paper taped to the page. These lists always have a visual element such as hearts, stickers, or small illustrations. The text is easy to read because the narration is printed with black font on lined paper, and the dialogue appears in speech bubbles. To help readers understand Priya’s emotions, a picture shows her facial expressions, with her feelings listed next to it. The book ends with instructions for making starry lanterns out of empty cans. 

Young readers will be drawn to Starry Henna Night for its brightly colored illustrations and fun format. Because each book focuses on one person’s party, the books can be read in any order. Anyone with a creative mind will love Priya’s great ideas for DIY projects. However, readers who are more interested in animals might enjoy the Disaster Squad Series and What If You Had an Animal Tail!? 

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• After a glitter disaster, Priya unknowingly goes to school with glitter in her hair. A boy says, “Hey, PriyaCORN! Why are you so sparkly?” Priya is embarrassed but otherwise ignores the comment.  

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None