Module 3 - A Sick Day for Amos McGee

 

Stead, Phillip Christian. (2011). A sick day for Amos McGee. Crows Nest, N.S.W. :  Allen &
      Unwin.    

         

Summary

A Sick Day for Amos McGee begins by showing how Amos McGee gets ready each day to go to work at the zoo.  At the zoo, the reader sees how much he cares for his animal friends, and how well he takes care of them.  One day Amos is sick and stays home from work.  His animal friends leave the zoo, hop on a bus, and arrive at Amos’s house to care for him.  After reciprocating the care he has always shown them, the animals and Amos go to bed with plans to return to the zoo the next day.

My impressions

The illustrations in this book show so much about Amos’s personality.  From the beginning, the reader sees how meticulous he is as he prepares for work.  The animals at the zoo are given human emotions not just through the text, but also in the illustrations.  The reader can see that the penguin is shy, that the elephant is thoughtful, and that the rhinoceros is miserable with allergies.  This book was illustrated by Erin Stead, the author’s wife, and won a Caldecott award in 2011.  The pictures contain details in a way that allows the reader to see more each time they read the book.  This is a story of friendship and caring that is truly enhanced by the illustrations. 

Library Usage

Reading this book aloud naturally creates prediction questions.  Asking students ‘what do you think will happen next’ comes naturally when Amos is going to stay home, when the animals walk out of the zoo, and when the animals and Amos fall asleep.  These questions can be used to teach prediction with younger students.

This is also a great book to begin a discussion about friendship and caring for others.  Also could be used to begin a health lesson on preventing colds.

This book could be used to introduce what the Caldecott award represents.  After reading the story aloud, students could choose their favorite scene from the book and create their own interpretation of it. 

Reviews

“Erin Stead's attentively detailed pencil and woodblock illustrations reveal character and enhance the cozy mood of Philip Stead's gentle text. Wiry, elderly Amos has a kindly Mister Rogers air about him; the animals, while realistically rendered overall, display distinct

personalities without uttering a word.  When Amos stays home one day to nurse a cold, his friends have just the right medicine: they make time to visit their good friend. Two wordless

spreads showing the animals (and one peripatetic red balloon) taking the bus to Amos's house have an almost surreal quality, which adds some low-key anticipation to the understated story.”

Flynn, K. (2010). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Horn Book Magazine, 86(3), 72-73.

“Amos works at a zoo. He befriends a shy penguin, reads to the owl, and he races with a tortoise. Amos takes care of the animals who also happen to he his friends. He is a dedicated employee who takes his job seriously, and the animals rely on Amos to perform his caretaker duties. But what happens when the zookeeper gets sick? The animals come and take care of

him. This is a sweet, but simple story about the value of friendship, loyalty, dedication, and duty.”

Swan, P. (2010). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Library Media Connection, 29(1), 71.