Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
A sweet story about friendship and kindness told in a soothing voice.
Love the illustrations.
Love the illustrations.
Finn and I LOVED this one - definitely one to purchase now that we've had it from the library for a month.
I first heard about this book from this blog post - http://scoutandjem.typepad.com/bookscout/2010/10/review-a-sick-day-for-amos-mcgee.html - and she says it best. Very highly recommended!!
I first heard about this book from this blog post - http://scoutandjem.typepad.com/bookscout/2010/10/review-a-sick-day-for-amos-mcgee.html - and she says it best. Very highly recommended!!
A Sick Day for Amos McGee is such a fun and sweet story that just warms your heart. It is the simple story of a friendly zookeeper and his fun friends. Amos McGee is a zookeeper who is extremely close with his zoo animal friends. When Amos doesn't show up for work one day, the animals hop on a bus to his house with the goal of just making him feel better. They play some fun games, give him a handkerchief and send him to bed with a good story. We see that the most simple acts of kindness and friendliness can make anybody feel better. The illustrations of this story are beautiful and have an old-fashioned sense to them. They are fun to follow and will have the kids naming every animal that they see on the pages. This Caldecott Medal-winning book truly deserves it's title and is such a great book to have in any classroom.
Adorable simple story about a man who works at the zoo and takes such good care of the animals, they want to take care of him, too. Gorgeous illustrations. Love it.
I can see why it won a Caldecott. Totally made me cry!
This was a very cute story about a man who hangs out at the zoo with animals, but when he gets sick, the animals go to him.
The zookeeper takes care of all the zoo animals when they get sick, but who takes care of the zookeeper when he gets sick?
Don't wait until your next sick day to read this 2011 Caldecott Medal winner and find out!
-Lindsey D.-
Don't wait until your next sick day to read this 2011 Caldecott Medal winner and find out!
-Lindsey D.-
When I was working on my music degree I got a job at the local library shelving books. I hated shelving books but it changed my fate and I learned so much about the library that I don't think you get if you start higher. The best part of the job was shelving the picture books because I would sit back there and read them which started a love of picture books and a small but always growing collection.
This book is about kindness. (see previous review about coping mechanisms) Amos McGee gets up and goes to work at the zoo everyday. He takes good care of his charges and knows them well enough that he'll read a story to the owl who is afraid of the dark with the light on. One day he gets sick and has to stay home. Everyone is concerned and in children's books magic makes their way to his house and repays his kindness when he needs it the most. It is sweet, it is simple and also so profound in how easy it is to take care of each other.
This book is about kindness. (see previous review about coping mechanisms) Amos McGee gets up and goes to work at the zoo everyday. He takes good care of his charges and knows them well enough that he'll read a story to the owl who is afraid of the dark with the light on. One day he gets sick and has to stay home. Everyone is concerned and in children's books magic makes their way to his house and repays his kindness when he needs it the most. It is sweet, it is simple and also so profound in how easy it is to take care of each other.
Sometimes children’s book reviewers bandy about the term “classic” like it was a verbal shuttlecock. There’s nothing that raises the savvy readers’ eyebrows faster than to see some wordsmith drooling profusely over “a new classic” or a book merely “destined to become a classic”. Even worse is when they start calling a book “old-fashioned”. Nine times out of then what they’re talking about is the fact that the book parrots some picture book title of the past. That’s the crazy thing about A Sick Day for Amos McGee. It doesn’t parrot anyone, and when you read it you feel like you’ve know the book your whole life. Could have been written last year, ten years ago, or fifty. Doesn’t matter because the word “timeless” may as well be stamped all over each and every doggone page. If you want to give a child a book that will remain with them always (and lead to decades of folks growing up and desperately trying to relocate it with the children’s librarians of the future) this is the one that you want. Marvelous.
Each morning it’s the same. Amos McGee gets out of bed, puts on his uniform, and goes to his job as zookeeper in the City Zoo. Amos takes his job very seriously. He always makes sure to play chess with the elephant, run races with the tortoise, sit quietly with the penguin, blow the rhino’s runny nose, and tell stories to the owl at dusk. Then one day Amos wakes up sick and has to stay in bed. The animals, bereft of his presence, decide something must be done. So they pick themselves up and take the bus to Amos’s house to keep him company for a change. And after everyone helps him out, Amos reads them all a story and each one of them tucks in for the night.
It’s strange to think that author Philip Stead wrote both this and last year’s [b:Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast|6659998|Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast|Philip Christian Stead|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266811327s/6659998.jpg|6854759]. Not that the latter was a bad book or anything, mind you, but that was a case where the protagonist had to be a perpetual crankypants. The character of Amos simply couldn’t be more different. He's like a cross between your favorite grandpa and Mr. Rogers. I read through this book several times to get down the cadence of Mr. Stead’s wordplay too. He’s prone to terms like “amble”. He parallels Amos’s activities in the first half with similar activities with the animals are taking care of him in the second. He knows when to leave sections wordless. And at the end, the “goodnight” section sort of makes this an ideal bedtime book for small fry. Practically invokes [b:Goodnight Moon|32929|Goodnight Moon|Margaret Wise Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168407089s/32929.jpg|1086867] it does.
There’s definitely a [a:Sebastian Meschenmoser|334574|Sebastian Meschenmoser|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] quality to this book (a statement that is going to be understood by approximately three people out there). Meschenmoser is a German illustrator who has written titles like Learning to Fly and Waiting for Winter. Erin Stead’s style is similar partly because there is a common humanity to every animal she draws. It’s not just the anthropomorphic details, like a penguin in socks (an animal Meschenmoser shares an affection for). It’s deeper than that. Look at this cover and then stare deep into that elephant’s eyes. There are layers to that elephant. That elephant has seen things in its day and has come out the wiser for it. It could tell you stories that would curl your hair or make you laugh till it hurt. That’s what I see when I look at a Stead animal. I see a creature that has had a rich full life, and all because of how she has chosen to put pencil/woodblock to paper. Amos McGee himself could not be any better. You love him from the moment he stretches in his pajamas. Everyone here, from the owl to the tortoise is someone you believe in.
Add onto all that the little tiny details as well. How Amos and the penguin sit and stand together, ankles turned inward. The fate of the penguin’s red balloon. Where Mr. McGee’s teddy bear is at any given time. The portrait of the penguin in the home. The rabbit reading a newspaper on the bus. And then there’s the penultimate spread where the animals gather around Amos as he gets ready to go to bed. His left foot rest gently against the rhino’s nose, his left hand on the elephant’s trunk. Very simple, natural, affectionate touches. You notice them, but you don’t. That’s the charm.
So there's the content. Now look at the actual art and design. According to the bookflap, Erin creates her illustrations by hand using woodblock printing techniques and pencil.” That’s impressive in and of itself, but I think the use of color is fascinating. Ms. Stead is sparing. On the one hand, you’re never able to identify the book’s exact year. On the other, you know in the back of your brain that if the publisher wanted to use all the colors of the rainbow, they could. You could also read the book several times before you noticed the elaborate flower design that ties the horizon in place behind the runny nosed rhino. Little touches, but necessary.
Husband and wife author/illustrator teams emerge once in a while, but they don’t always have the golden touch. That the Steads not only have it but are also willing to use it as a force for good instead of evil is gratifying. It’s also gratifying to think that maybe we’ll see them do more books in the future. I’d like that. I’d like that very much, and I’m wagering that a whole generation of children reading and loving this book are going to like it as well. Here, I’ll make it simple for you: Need to buy a picture book for a kid between the ages of four and eight? Buy this one. There you go. Problem solved.
For ages 4-8.
Each morning it’s the same. Amos McGee gets out of bed, puts on his uniform, and goes to his job as zookeeper in the City Zoo. Amos takes his job very seriously. He always makes sure to play chess with the elephant, run races with the tortoise, sit quietly with the penguin, blow the rhino’s runny nose, and tell stories to the owl at dusk. Then one day Amos wakes up sick and has to stay in bed. The animals, bereft of his presence, decide something must be done. So they pick themselves up and take the bus to Amos’s house to keep him company for a change. And after everyone helps him out, Amos reads them all a story and each one of them tucks in for the night.
It’s strange to think that author Philip Stead wrote both this and last year’s [b:Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast|6659998|Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast|Philip Christian Stead|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266811327s/6659998.jpg|6854759]. Not that the latter was a bad book or anything, mind you, but that was a case where the protagonist had to be a perpetual crankypants. The character of Amos simply couldn’t be more different. He's like a cross between your favorite grandpa and Mr. Rogers. I read through this book several times to get down the cadence of Mr. Stead’s wordplay too. He’s prone to terms like “amble”. He parallels Amos’s activities in the first half with similar activities with the animals are taking care of him in the second. He knows when to leave sections wordless. And at the end, the “goodnight” section sort of makes this an ideal bedtime book for small fry. Practically invokes [b:Goodnight Moon|32929|Goodnight Moon|Margaret Wise Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168407089s/32929.jpg|1086867] it does.
There’s definitely a [a:Sebastian Meschenmoser|334574|Sebastian Meschenmoser|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] quality to this book (a statement that is going to be understood by approximately three people out there). Meschenmoser is a German illustrator who has written titles like Learning to Fly and Waiting for Winter. Erin Stead’s style is similar partly because there is a common humanity to every animal she draws. It’s not just the anthropomorphic details, like a penguin in socks (an animal Meschenmoser shares an affection for). It’s deeper than that. Look at this cover and then stare deep into that elephant’s eyes. There are layers to that elephant. That elephant has seen things in its day and has come out the wiser for it. It could tell you stories that would curl your hair or make you laugh till it hurt. That’s what I see when I look at a Stead animal. I see a creature that has had a rich full life, and all because of how she has chosen to put pencil/woodblock to paper. Amos McGee himself could not be any better. You love him from the moment he stretches in his pajamas. Everyone here, from the owl to the tortoise is someone you believe in.
Add onto all that the little tiny details as well. How Amos and the penguin sit and stand together, ankles turned inward. The fate of the penguin’s red balloon. Where Mr. McGee’s teddy bear is at any given time. The portrait of the penguin in the home. The rabbit reading a newspaper on the bus. And then there’s the penultimate spread where the animals gather around Amos as he gets ready to go to bed. His left foot rest gently against the rhino’s nose, his left hand on the elephant’s trunk. Very simple, natural, affectionate touches. You notice them, but you don’t. That’s the charm.
So there's the content. Now look at the actual art and design. According to the bookflap, Erin creates her illustrations by hand using woodblock printing techniques and pencil.” That’s impressive in and of itself, but I think the use of color is fascinating. Ms. Stead is sparing. On the one hand, you’re never able to identify the book’s exact year. On the other, you know in the back of your brain that if the publisher wanted to use all the colors of the rainbow, they could. You could also read the book several times before you noticed the elaborate flower design that ties the horizon in place behind the runny nosed rhino. Little touches, but necessary.
Husband and wife author/illustrator teams emerge once in a while, but they don’t always have the golden touch. That the Steads not only have it but are also willing to use it as a force for good instead of evil is gratifying. It’s also gratifying to think that maybe we’ll see them do more books in the future. I’d like that. I’d like that very much, and I’m wagering that a whole generation of children reading and loving this book are going to like it as well. Here, I’ll make it simple for you: Need to buy a picture book for a kid between the ages of four and eight? Buy this one. There you go. Problem solved.
For ages 4-8.