40 Fun Facts About 11 Birthdays

Publishers Weekly called 11 Birthdays a version of which comedy film for middle grade readers?

Groundhog Day, the comedy about a weatherman stuck in one repeating day, was the magazine's shorthand for Amanda waking again and again on her eleventh birthday.

Which day of the week do Amanda and Leo keep waking up to in the time-loop novel 11 Birthdays?

Friday is the day that will not end: Amanda wakes expecting Saturday and finds the same school day waiting for her.

Which Wizard of Oz character does Amanda have to dress as for her party in 11 Birthdays?

Dorothy is the costume Amanda's mother picked for the party, and Amanda dislikes the itchy outfit from the start.

Which cartoon character is on the balloon that greets Amanda every morning in 11 Birthdays?

SpongeBob SquarePants floats back into her room each morning even after she shuts the balloon away, her first sign that the day has reset.

Which entertainer from Leo's party do Amanda and Leo suspect of causing the enchantment in 11 Birthdays?

A hypnotist performed at Leo's party, so the pair track him down for answers, only to learn he knows nothing about the repeating day.

The potted plants tied to the enchantment in 11 Birthdays grew from the seeds of which fruit tree?

Apple seeds from the neighbouring farms of their feuding ancestors grew into the two plants, so neglecting a plant means neglecting the friendship.

Which gymnastics move does Amanda keep failing to land at team tryouts in 11 Birthdays?

A back handspring defeats her at the tryout, even after her best friend Stephanie coaches her in the backyard the evening before.

Which instrument does Amanda secretly love to play in 11 Birthdays, though she tries out for gymnastics instead?

Drums are Amanda's real passion, but she hides it because gymnastics is considered much cooler at her school.

What happens to Amanda's mother at the end of Amanda's eleventh birthday in 11 Birthdays?

She loses her job in a phone call from her boss after the party, and it happens even on the repeat when Amanda fixes the day's mix-up.

What reason does Amanda overhear Leo give for sharing birthday parties with her in 11 Birthdays?

His mom makes him, Leo tells his friends at their tenth birthday party, and the overheard remark ends the friendship for a year.

What is the theme of the costume party Amanda's mother plans for her eleventh birthday in 11 Birthdays?

Hollywood is the theme her mother chose, costume included, though many guests slip away early to a bigger party across town.

Which creatures from The Wizard of Oz have always creeped out Amanda, the heroine of 11 Birthdays?

Flying monkeys have always unsettled her, which makes the Oz costume her mother chose for the big day even less welcome.

Leo's rival party in 11 Birthdays boasts a football star, live music and which unusual animal?

A giant iguana is one of the attractions at Leo's huge bash, which keeps luring guests away from Amanda's smaller party.

Which item belonging to Amanda's older sister does their mother take to work by mistake in 11 Birthdays?

A science poster goes to the office in place of her own presentation, and Amanda later uses a repeat of the day to warn her about the swap.

A crying boy in 11 Birthdays has left which homework chart at home, which Amanda later draws for him?

The periodic table gets redrawn by Amanda on a later run of the day, one of the small kindnesses the do-overs allow her.

What did Amanda and Leo both learn to do at their shared first birthday party in 11 Birthdays?

Walk is the milestone the book's blurb gives for that first party, the start of ten years of shared celebrations.

What forced the families of Amanda and Leo to share a venue for the first birthday party in 11 Birthdays?

A double booking put both families in one party room, and it was no accident: the town's mysterious old woman had arranged it.

How does Amanda get out of going to school on the third run of her birthday in 11 Birthdays?

She pretends to be sick, and it works: the party is cancelled and she spends a far calmer evening at home.

After Amanda's party is cancelled on one repeat of the day in 11 Birthdays, how does she spend the evening?

Pizza and a movie at home prove far more fun than the costume party, the first proof that the day can be changed.

How does Leo first let Amanda know he is also reliving the day in 11 Birthdays?

Leo passes her a note in history class wishing her a happy birthday for the fourth time, a count only a fellow repeater could know.

What do Amanda and Leo borrow from Leo's neighbors to get around on the day they skip school in 11 Birthdays?

Electric scooters carry them around town for a day of fun, since anything they do will be wiped clean by the next morning.

What does Leo withdraw from the bank to pay for a day of skipping school with Amanda in 11 Birthdays?

His life savings, three hundred dollars, go on treats such as an extravagant brunch, because the money will be back by morning.

What does Leo perform for the residents of a senior citizens' center in 11 Birthdays?

A poem is Leo's party piece, delivered on the day he and Amanda skip school and try things they would never normally dare.

Who catches Amanda and Leo and returns them to their families on the day they skip school in 11 Birthdays?

A mall security guard ends their day of freedom, but the angry parents and any punishment vanish when the day resets.

Where do Amanda and Leo find the town's mysterious old woman working at the front desk in 11 Birthdays?

The historical society is where she tells them about two feuding farmers who became best friends overnight, a hint that the curse is an old one.

Amanda recognises the mysterious old woman of 11 Birthdays because she sometimes does which job?

School bus driver is her occasional job, which later lets Amanda and Leo corner her for answers on the morning ride.

What do Amanda and Leo find hidden in the desk of Leo's great-great-grandfather in 11 Birthdays?

An old journal lies at the back of the desk, and in it Leo's ancestor describes being trapped in a repeating day of his own.

Which annual celebration were the feuding ancestors of Amanda and Leo once trapped reliving in 11 Birthdays?

Harvest Day kept repeating for the two feuding men generations earlier, just as the birthday repeats for their descendants.

What does Amanda do with her potted plant after the falling-out with Leo in 11 Birthdays?

She throws it out her window, and the plant quietly takes root in the yard below, where it waits a year to be repotted.

How does Leo get up to Amanda's bedroom on the morning they skip school together in 11 Birthdays?

He climbs a tree outside her room and arrives with a plan for a day that will leave no consequences behind.

What does Amanda find decorated at school on the morning of her birthday in 11 Birthdays?

Her locker is decorated for the occasion but also jammed shut, a detail that returns unchanged on every repeat of the day.

Which publisher first released the Wendy Mass novel 11 Birthdays in 2009?

Scholastic, the company behind school book fairs, released the novel under its Scholastic Press imprint.

Which sequel to 11 Birthdays follows Rory Swenson and her list of things to do once she turns twelve?

Finally is the second book in the series, and nearly every wish on Rory's list goes comically wrong.

In which later book do Amanda and Leo of 11 Birthdays travel back in time to help a girl named Grace?

The Last Present sends the pair back to a younger girl's earlier birthday parties, and their friendship starts to turn into romance.

Which Wendy Mass novel about a girl with synesthesia won a Schneider Family Book Award before 11 Birthdays?

A Mango-Shaped Space follows thirteen-year-old Mia, for whom words and sounds have colour, and it took the award in 2004.

In which US state was 11 Birthdays author Wendy Mass born, in the town of Livingston?

New Jersey is her birth state: after college she worked in the Los Angeles entertainment industry, then moved back east to begin a career in publishing.

11 Birthdays is the first of five novels in which Wendy Mass series about magical birthdays?

Willow Falls is both the series and the small town where every book is set, each with a different birthday at its heart.

Which enigmatic town elder tells two sets of new parents to celebrate together every year in 11 Birthdays?

Angelina D'Angelo has lived in the town for as long as anyone can remember, and she turns up in every book of the series.

What is the name of Amanda's older sister, aged thirteen, in the novel 11 Birthdays?

Kylie is thirteen, two years older than Amanda, and her school project causes trouble when it gets mixed up with their mother's work.

11 Birthdays won the William Allen White Children's Book Award, voted on by schoolchildren in which US state?

Kansas schoolchildren pick the winner of the prize, the oldest statewide children's choice book award in the United States.