Winner of the 2011 Caldecott Medal
Written by Phillip C. Stead, Illustrated by Erin E. Stead
This is just a delightful book for young readers! It is a story about an old zookeeper who has a daily routine he follows with his animal friends at the zoo – including playing chess with an elephant and running races with a tortoise! But when the old man catches a cold and has to stay home the animals decide to take the bus to visit him, and while there, the animals entertain Amos with all the same kind of activities that they do at the zoo. Then they all have a sleepover and return to the zoo in the morning. The beautifully simple and realistic illustrations add a wonderful sense of humor to the story. The pictures also somehow manage to convey a deep sense of friendship and loyalty between the old zookeeper and the animals. This is a lovely read-a-loud book for the younger grades, but even my teenage daughters thought it was a fun read!
Review by Lynda H. Wilson, David Gourley Elem. School Media Center
Rating: 4 Stars
Interest Level: Grades K-2
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Written by Phillip C. Stead, Illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Roaring Brook Press
32 p.
ISBN: 9781596434028
Release Date: May 25, 2010
This is such a cute book and great read aloud. The thing that impressed me was that this was the first book that Erin Stead ever illustrated!
I thought the story was very sweet and from an adult eye, the illustrations are fun. I’m not sure that the students will pull the book from the shelf based on its cover.