Author: Philip C. Stea
Illustrator: Erin E. Stead
Publisher and year: Roaring Brook Press, 2010
Number of pages: 32 pages
Genre: Picture Book
A Sick Day for Amos McGee describes a story that happened between a friendly zookeeper, Amos McGee and his good friends in the zoo. He spends time everyday with these animals. But one day he is sick and he couldn’t make it to the zoo. He received some unexpected guests that day: his animal friends came to his house and took great care of him.
Amos McGee wakes up early everyday. He would boil a pot of water, eat some oatmeal and have some tea before he heads out to the zoo. The colors in this book is very subtle and only some subjects have color while others don’t. We can see some hints of animals in Amos McGee’s house like his teddy bear, his bunny slippers, and his photo album of a penguin. Every page has some animals hidden somewhere. When he takes the bus, there is a rabbit reading newspaper inside the bus. Before he went into the zoo, we see a monkey sitting on a tree. Then Amos McGee would play chess with the elephant who thought and thought before making a move. He would run races with the tortoise who never ever lost. He would sit quietly with the penguin who was very shy and he would lend a handkerchief to the rhinoceros who always had a runny nose. At sunset, he would read stories to the owl who was afraid of the dark.
On each page, Amos McGee seems to be smiling and enjoying his time with the animals. So do the animals. When he got sick, his friends waited at the zoo for a long time. Later that day, they decided to visit Amos McGee. The elephant played chess with Amos who thought for a long time before making a move. The tortoise played hide-and-seek with Amos who just hid beneath the covers. The penguin kept Amos’s feet warm and the rhinoceros prepared a handkerchief for Amos. The owl boiled a pot of tea and they let Amos drinks it. At the end, they all went to sleep together.
Amos gives every single animal the attention and special caring they need everyday and Amos’s warm-hearted friend returned the favor of Amos’s caring and attention. This gentle and special story between human and animals lets us see the beauty of friendship. The illustrations show how happy those animals are when they get to spend time with Amos McGee.
