Review: A Sick Day for Amos McGee

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book brings me to the critique of the ALA award system. I realize that the committee is not compelled to give an award if they don't think there was a great book that year, but I'd really like to see an award with medium-range scope. 3-5 years instead of every year. I don't think this book is going to stand up over the next decade as one of the memorable and lasting picturebooks of all time. How might an award align with the lasting power of some storytelling in this art form? The Phoenix Award is an interesting model, but its range is too far into the past--25 years, and the titles are sometimes all but forgotten by then. There needs to be something to put remarkable books in the position of going into a second edition.

2011 Caldecott winner. It was a good book. I was most interested by the way both author and illustrator kept the book slowly paced. The spare illustrations and judicious use of block-printed colors felt congruent with the slow pacing. I did not find the story remarkable or highly memorable. After the reversal at the center of the book there was nothing else but to play out the list of animals--a kind of cumulative tale. The shape of the story reminds me of the Twelve Days of Christmas song, which I don't really care for, but not as repetitive. The picture of all the animals on the bus was funny, and there were quite a few comical moments. I liked it.



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