"For Grandma—who started the universe—" reads the author's tender dedication to this lovingly-told tale about a grandma who “came to America from Russia a long time ago on a big boat with a little suitcase." Now it’s the eve of Grandma's birthday, and she has dictated to family and friends alike: NO PRESENTS. How everyone manages to obey Grandma yet bring the perfect "no presents" imaginable is the substance of a charming story. A bonus for reader and listener alike is Catherine the Great's recipe for Russian Borscht that appears on the book's back cover. At the story's close, Grandma confides to her small granddaughter Sara that "Today I am as old as all the numbers on the clock added together." Young listeners will enjoy puzzling out the answer to her confidence.