A Sick
Day For Amos McGee was written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin
E. Stead. It was the Caldecott Medal
winner in 2011. This book told a very
sweet tale of a man named Amos McGee who took care of the animals at the
zoo. One day, he got sick and the
animals came to take care of him instead.
It was a sweet tale that seems perfect to read just before bed because
of the calm pictures and storyline.
I really
enjoyed how relaxing this book was. The
colors that Erin chose to incorporate were all soft and somewhat faded. I think she used soft colors intentionally to
bring to life the calm nature of the story.
I enjoyed that the book had a pattern embedded within it as well. All of the things that Amos does with the
animals is reciprocated when they come to take care of him.
I think
that the memory of my late grandfather really had an effect on my reaction to
this book. He was such a calm and
methodical man, much like I imagine Amos to be.
This connection brought the character of Amos to life for me and allowed
me to find comfort and enjoyment in his story.
I also read this book after a long day of teaching. It was refreshing to come home to such a
sweet, simple, relaxing story to take my mind off of the stress of the day.
This book
was very different from Flotsam.
In Flotsam the pictures were bright and detailed whereas in this
book, they were muted and somewhat simplistic.
The pictures in Flotsam immediately made me feel excited and
adventurous because of their bright colors and large graphics, but the pictures
and A Sick Day for Amos McGee evoked calmer, more relaxed feelings. It’s amazing to me how much the style of the
pictures can impact the entire tone of the book.
Through
reading this book, I realized that the pictures in children’s literature can
evoke very different feelings within a person. I had never paid much attention
to how authors and illustrators could use pictures to really set the tone for
the book. The pictures of this book were
intentionally faded and simplistic in order to make the reader feel at ease while
reading. I will pay more attention to
the feelings that are evoked within me because of the pictures in the future
books I read.
The following link will take you to a Wall Street Journal interview with Erin E. Stead in reference to A Sick Day for Amos McGee.
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