A Surprise for a Friend

When Nikki hurts her leg and misses Barbie's surprise party, Barbie flips the script and throws a surprise for her instead. It is a slim, sweet story built around empathy and the joy of giving, and it delivers that message cleanly for the 3-to-7 set. The press-out friendship cards and fifty-plus stickers genuinely extend the fun beyond the final page, which is smart packaging for a gift book. The honest caveat is that the plot is tissue-thin even by early-reader standards — this is a brand vehicle first and a story second, and no amount of Barbie charm changes that. Still, the prosocial heart is real, the vocabulary is well-pitched for new readers, and young Barbie fans will be delighted. Worth it for the audience it is aimed at.