Book Talk #2

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Written by Philip C. Stead

Illustrated by Erin E. Stead
 

              This children's book is a 2011 Caldecott award winner and also earned "Best Book Review" in the New York Times. It is a story about an old man named Amos McGee. Amos is a zookeeper; every day he wakes up, gets dressed and takes the city bus to the zoo to spend time with the animals who he considers his friends. He plays chess with the elephant, races the tortoise, sits with the penguin, offers a handkerchief to the rhinoceros and reads stories to the owl.
 

              Amos wakes up one day with a cold and realizes he cannot come into work. The animals are all confused and sad that Amos isn't at the zoo so they decide to take the city bus and visit him at home. Amos is thrilled his friends came to visit. He proceeds to do all his daily activities with each of his friends while they all take care of him. They drank tea, read a bedtime story and all fell asleep in Amos's bedroom.
 

              The illustrations  in the book are beautiful. The writer and illustrator of the book are husband and wife and worked well together in the making of A Sick Day for Amos McGee. The illustrator used pencil to keep a black and white theme but throws in hints of color on each page. The drawings are very detailed, yet simple. The author uses adult language such as referring to the turtle as a tortoise and using words such as "pawns" and "amble". It is a wonderful book to encourage the broadening of a child's vocabulary. It is written with the intention of an adult reading to a child. It is not a story a child would read on their own, especially if they were just learning how to read.
 

              This book is a  great example of compassion, consideration and friendship for children. It portrays  friendship working "both ways" and shows that friendship is never one-sided. It expresses the importance of appreciating one another's help and company. It is a lovely, heartwarming story and I would highly recommend it.