Module 3 Caldecott: The Big Snow and A Sick Day for Amos McGee

The Big Snow 

Bibliographic Information
Hader, B. & E. (1948). The big snow. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 


Summary 
This is the story of animals preparing for winter by storing food and finding warm places to rest and keep out of the weather.  They are also fortunate to have the people who live in the little stone house who will help them survive.  After the big snow, the animals are happy to find that food has been left out for them by the couple who live in the little house.

Impressions
The summary sounds simplistic, and in truth, it is a typical story of how animals survive in cold weather.  What makes this book extraordinary are the beautiful illustrations.  These paintings, in conjunction with the words, draw the reader in to this cold, winter world.  While reading the book I felt like I should start making my own preparations for winter.  It is easy to see why this book won the Caldecott Medal and why it has stood the test of time. 

Review
A beautiful picture book with so slight a text that it can be ignored with the very little children -- and used with the next step up who are themselves beginning to be interested in feeding the birds and animals in the winter. For that is what this book is about. The Haders are at their best in drawing animals and this, with forty full page pictures, half of them in color, has some of the best work they have done, with a fine decorative sense as well as recognizable pictures of the creatures of woods and fields preparing for winter, and watching the first signs.

Review Reference
(n.d.). [Review of The Big Snow, by B. & E. Hader]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved
     from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/berta-elmer-hader/
     the-big-snow/

Library Use
~The Big Snow could be used in a study of illustration techniques.  The beautiful, detailed paintings in the book could be compared with the photo illustrations in Stranger in the Woods, which tells a similar story of animals receiving treats of food to help them through the winter. Students could compare the two types of illustrations and discuss the pros and cons of using each type. 

Book Trailer by Melissa Leonard

A Sick Day for Amos McGee 

Bibliographic Information
Stead, P. C. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee. New York: Roaring Book Press.

Summary
Amos McGee is a kind, older man who works at the zoo.  He spends his days taking particularly good care of the animals- reading bedtime stories, playing chess, having races, and simply hanging out with one animal who is shy.  One day when Amos becomes sick and can't go to work at the zoo, his animal friends become concerned and travel across the city to check on him.  In a funny role reversal, the animals take care of Amos as he recuperates in bed. 

Impressions 
I found this book to be refreshing and heartwarming.  The story itself is one of true friendship, showing how friends enjoy spending time together and take care of each other.  The soft illustrations add to the warm feeling of the story.  They are also exquisitely detailed.  Young children will connect with the theme and truly enjoy this story of mutual affection. 

Review
Zookeeper Amos McGee always makes time to visit his good friends at work: he plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the tortoise (who always wins), sits quietly with the penguin, lends a handkerchief to the rhinoceros (who has a runny nose), and reads stories to the owl (who is afraid of the dark). Then, after Amos gets a cold, his friends miss him, and they leave the zoo and ride the bus to his place to care for him and cheer him up. Like the story, the quiet pictures, rendered in pencil and woodblock color prints, are both tender and hilarious. Each scene captures the drama of Amos and the creatures caring for each other, whether the elephant is contemplating his chess moves, his huge behind perched on a stool; or the rhinoceros is lending Amos a handkerchief; or the owl is reading them all a bedtime story. The extension of the familiar pet-bonding theme will have great appeal, especially in the final images of the wild creatures snuggled up with Amos in his cozy home. 

Review Reference

Rochman, H. (2010, May). [Review of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by P. C.
     Stead]. Booklist. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2143/
     ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&
     prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=txshracd2679&tabID=T004&searchId=R1&
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     AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=362&contentSet=GALE|
     A226161207&&docId=GALE|A226161207&docType=GALE&role=LitRC 

Library Use
~This book would be a wonderful read aloud for a story time for primary age students.  They would find humor in all the activities Amos does with the animals at the zoo.  Young students would also appreciate the kindness and show of friendship when the animals arrive to take care of Amos when he is sick.