Module 6 - ALA Winner & Poetry Selection

Bibliographic Citation

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

Awards

2011 Caldecott Award

Review

This charming picture book highlights the life of zoo keeper, Amos McGee who is an elderly gentleman who has a deep affection for his job and the animals at the zoo. Each day he makes time to visit his friends and give them his full attention. He reads to the owl, plays chess with the elephant, sits with his penguin friend, and takes on the role of nurse for his runny-nosed rhinoceros friend. All of his genuine care and concern is returned when he finds himself under the weather and unable to go to work. His zoo friends hop on a bus and come to his rescue. In their efforts to cheer him up, they each play their favorite games with him, and provide him with things he needs: a handkerchief, his very own custom foot warmer in the form of a penguin, and a bedtime story. All of these things make Amos feel much better.

Poetry Pairing

Sweeney, Jacqueline. Ed. 2003. Poems About Friends. New York: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 9780761415060. (No Image Available)

This delightful book of poetry about friends, written by America’s Children and edited by Jacqueline Sweeney pairs wonderfully with A Sick Day for Amos McGee in keeping with the theme of friendship. The poems in this book are filled with the feelings associated with friendship: the lack of having a friend, what it means to have a best friend, and how friends can help you on your saddest of days. “When I’m Really Sad/I feel like no one likes me./But one person likes me/and that person is Jennifer./I like her. She’s a girl./” Even when we are not at our very best, friendship is vital for our well-being. This book relays the message of the importance of friendships and how friendships can make each of us feel appreciated, important, and loved.

Poem Title

“When I’m Happy”
By: Tzamira Cotton, grade 2

I feel like a flower
that people take good
care of and they water me
and I just start to bloom
in the air like a blue
tulip.

Introduction or Follow-up Activity

Prior to reading A Sick Day for Amos McGee, I would talk to students about friendship and ask them what they think it means to be a friend. I would ask them to think about it in terms of writing a classified ad for a friend. What would they ask for, what are the most important things they look for in their friends? After having a brief discussion, I would read the 2011 Caldecott winner and ask what they noticed about the characters in the story. Hopefully they would recognize that friendship is a giving relationship from both parties involved. After our discussion, I would share some of the Poems About Friends written by children and ask if any of them have ever had similar situations or feelings. I would then invite students to write their own poems about a friend.