In A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead, we discover the quiet joy between those who share a gentle temperament. Amos' animal companions take a city bus to visit him at home to learn why he did not show up for work at the zoo. They miss him. When Amos exclaims, "Hooray! My good friends are here!", this uncharacteristic outburst shows us how precious friendship is. We feel the camaraderie depicted in Erin Stead's illustrations. The elephant, rhinoceros, tortoise, penguin, and owl have learned empathy from Amos. They know that the finest cure for the flu includes the comfort of friends.
The sentences in this story feature
examples of alliteration and assonance. In my opinion, the listener has a good
chance of hearing Philip Stead's melodic word choices at Read to My Children
My Picture Book Talk for this story is here.
