by Philip Christian Stead
illustrated by Erin Stead
Roaring Book Press, 2010. 32 pgs.
Reading Level: ages 3-8
Hardcover: $16.99
Annotation: The animals at the zoo look forward to Amos McGee's visit every day, but what will happen when he falls sick and can't come to see them?
Summary: Every morning Amos McGee wakes up in his yellow and white striped room and puts on his uniform. He makes tea and oatmeal, leaves his little blue house and walks to the city bus stop. Amos McGee is a zookeeper. Each morning he visits his animal friends, playing chess with the elephant, racing the tortoise, sitting quietly with penguin and reading to the owl. But, one day Amos gets the sniffles and can't go to work. His animal friends miss him so much that they take the city bus to visit Amos! Amos is delighted to see his friends and he and the elephant play chess on his bed; the tortoise and he play hide-and-seek, the penguin keeps his feet warm during his nap; and the rhinocerous is handing with a tissue when Amos sneezes. Amos starts to feel better and shares a pot of tea with his friends as they all sit around his kitchen table. Everyone retires to bed early so as to get up for the morning bus and they all sleep peacefully that night in Amos's yellow and white striped room.
Evaluation: The story is outright lovable. The words are spare, but the illustrations are so intimately rendered, they speak for themselves. The artwork is phenomenal and Amos McGee and the animals simply exude charm. Erin Stead used wood-block prints and pencil drawings and the background items in each page are done in black and white while Amos' uniform, the animals and the wardrob, etc. are bright spots of color on each page. Stead uses white space well and the balance between color and space is perfect. I loved Amos McGee's yellow and white striped bedroom, with the colors reaching to the tops and bottoms of the pages,implying there's more to his room than we can see. The stripes add a lot of fun color to the book and connect the story. The expressions on Amos's face and the zoo animals are extremely detailed and the artist has a fine sense of humor. The story itself is whimsical, feeds the reader's imagination and you'll fall in love with Amos McGee and his zoo friends just as surely as I did.
Significance: Everyone has good days and bad days. If you spend time with your friends and treat them well, when you have a bad day they will be willing to help and comfort you when you need it.
Personal Choice: I'm not really an animal lover, but the cover art was so enchanting I couldn't resist. Amos McGee, along with the elephant and the penguin look so cozy sitting together on their blue blanket, playing cards with the bright yellow and white stripes in the background that I succumbed to the temptation and loved, loved, loved every minute.
Awards: Caldecott Winner, 2011 / Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment