A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead

A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Philip C. Stead

Stead, Philip C., Illustrator Erin E. Stead. 2010. A Sick Day for Amos McGee. New York: Roaring Book Press. ISBN: 9781596434028.

What if animals could talk? Well, in A Sick Day for Amos McGee a Caldecott winner by Philip Stead, we find out what they would say if they could. Amos McGee is an elderly zookeeper who always makes time to visit his animal friends before he starts work. His dependability is taken for granted and when Amos takes ill his animal friends become concerned and leave the zoo to pay him a get well visit. The animals spend the day with him doing a version of their favorite activities and all end up spending the night in Amos’ house.

The main character Amos McGee is a likeable and affable old zookeeper. The illustrations paint him as the quintessential grandfather type. A type of character that adults and children can understand and believe. He could almost be described as a Mr. Rogers like character, easy going and even tempered. The other characters in this picture book are the zoo animals: the elephant, rhino, owl, penguin, and tortoise. Anthropomorphizing the animals make them seem more real and gives them a sense of personality exhibiting the human emotions of sadness, happiness, and critical thinking.

The theme of this picture book is very subtle. It conveys sympathy and acts of selflessness from all the characters. It is meaningful as it conveys a sense of peacefulness for everyone involved. How the characters behave inwardly and outwardly is a good way for children to see how they should treat others. The theme is also very noticeable through the illustrations.

The illustrations are very detail oriented especially in the facial areas of the characters. One can see emotions plainly on both Amos’ and the animals faces. One could almost read the book without the words and tell the story themselves. Using very subtle colors and a technique called woodblock printing, the illustrations are not what one expects to see in a modern picture book, but this is the charm of this book. Simplicity is sometimes better to understand when reading a story. Using white as a background for the illustrations there is no interference to take the reader away from the story being told.

The strengths in this picture lie in the anthropomorphism of the animals. Children like animals and even better if they don’t act like animals. Giving each animal a very human characteristic makes them more believable to the reader. The weaknesses lie in the pace of the story. As an adult I felt kind of lost, waiting for something to happen. The story is meant to be slow and I feel a child might get bored with the waiting.

Being an award winning picture book the online reviews are glowing:
• The artwork in this quiet tale of good deeds rewarded uses woodblock-printing techniques, soft flat colors, and occasional bits of red. Illustrations are positioned on the white space to move the tale along and underscore the bonds of friendship and loyalty. Whether read individually or shared, this gentle story will resonate with youngsters. —Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC.

A good way to tell this story for story time or bedtime would be with animal puppets. Either with a partner or volunteers, bringing the story alive to an audience would enhance it that much more. An already powerful story will resonate long after the story is done with the puppets making a debut for every reading of this beautiful picture book.