Blog #8

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Written by: Philip C. Stead

Illustrated by: Erin E. Stead

Roaring Brook Press, 2010

31 pages

Fantasy

I chose this book because I heard about it through the grapevine.  This book is about an old man named Amos.  Amos is a very cheerful person who takes time out of his busy day to spend time his friends in the zoo.  His friends are some of the animals.  One day Amos wakes up with a cold.  Instead of getting out of bed to go to work, Amos stays home.  His animal friends at the zoo wait for Amos to come, but he never comes.  They eventually got worried about Amos so they decided to visit him at his house.  They all got on the bus and rode to meet Amos.  Amos was glad to see his friends! They kept Amos company and helped him to feel better.

The illustrations are created by Erin E. Stead, who happens to be the author’s wife.  The book does not tell what kind of medium she used, but it appears to be colored pencils.  The illustrations have a texture embedded in the colors.  The elephant, for instance, looks real!  An elephant’s skin is wrinkled and textured.  In the book, the drawings look just like an elephant’s skin.  Stead used pale, soft colors in her drawings.  The main colors used are green, yellow, tan, and some red.  The illustrations are the best part of the book!

A Sick Day for Amos McGee would be great for any age group.  I enjoyed this book at twenty-one years old.  The content and illustrations are priceless!  I would use this book in my classroom for character education lessons on kindness and friendship.  I would pull out the fact that Amos was a good friend by spending time with his friends and when he needed someone, his friends come to help him.  Friends have to give a little love to get love and friendship in return.  This is one of my favorite types of medium.  I love this illustrator and author pair.  A Sick Day for Amos McGee won the honor of the 2011 Caldecott Medal.