I REALLY, REALLY DON'T LIKE PARTIES

A girl learns to cope with her aversion to parties.

When Dora’s friend Rashid invites her to his birthday party, she doesn’t want to go. She’s already been to a party and found it overwhelming. Dora’s mother encourages her to attend, saying that she’ll have fun and see all her friends—a claim Dora finds both suspect and unappealing. Although she produces a litany of excuses, ranging from a gorilla stealing her party clothes to a multitude of fake injuries, her mother insists that she try it out. As predicted, the party makes Dora miserable—that is, until she crawls under the table and discovers a boy who, like her, prefers a quiet atmosphere. Thanks to Tom, Dora enjoys herself so much that the next time she’s invited to a party, she goes willingly just to see her new friend. This book’s clever design, inspired use of typeface, lighthearted illustrations, and wonderfully silly text combine for an accessible entry point to a serious topic. The author provides a workable coping mechanism for introverted and neurodiverse party guests while honoring and accepting varied perspectives. While the protagonist’s mother initially seems to ignore her concerns, by the end it’s clear that she wasn’t trying to force Dora into attending the party but rather simply wanted to give the child a chance to make her own decision. Dora is light-skinned, Rashid and Tom are brown-skinned, and the other partygoers are diverse.

A funny, heartfelt, and respectful tale of a child grappling with sensory sensitivity.