With a full picnic basket and a packed car, a family with a baby and a young child (who narrates) gets ready for a birthday party of sorts—it’s July 4. At a bustling park, the protagonist finds a playmate, eats watermelon and a cupcake, then settles in for the fireworks display. Returning home, the child learns why America has a birthday and drifts off to sleep reflecting on a most memorable day. Dad’s explanation (“Today we remember our history and celebrate freedom”) goes over the youngster’s head. The focus here is on concrete, sensory details: the crowded park, the crying little sibling, and the fireworks. Troup explores their sounds and even how they smell, a useful introduction for young children new to the experience. Doehring’s illustrations provide all the expected hallmarks of the Fourth. The fireworks are incredibly well drawn, from a solo standout explosion to the sky filled with light. The family at the center of the tale is beige-skinned; their community is diverse. A “Timeline of Freedom” appears at the end, highlighting key pieces of U.S. history like the addition of the Bill of Rights, women achieving the right to vote, the Civil Rights Movement, and the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—though these descriptions are above the level of the narrator and young readers.