A Sick Day for Amos McGee

By Philip C. Stead, Erin E. Stead (illustrator),

Book cover of A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Book description

Every day Amos McGee spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked A Sick Day for Amos McGee as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This beautifully illustrated book struck me because of the deep caring demonstrated throughout the book.  I liked how it showed that when you show caring to someone (in this case a variety of animals), it can be reciprocated in kind. I believe that love is shown through acts of kindness which this book points out to the young reader.

From Andrew's list on friendship and diversity.

In his debut picture book, Philip C. Stead relates the tale of kind-hearted zookeeper Amos McGee who goes out of his way to care for his charges in ways that are special to them: running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and reading bedtime stories to the owl. But it isn’t until Amos is too sick to go to work that his animal friends band together and show him how much they care. As a picture book author, I was delighted when Snead’s gentle, lyrical writing earned the 2011 Bank Street—Best Children’s Book of the Year award…

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