Sick Day (I Like to Read Books) by David McPhail

I Like to Read

by David McPhail

Loving friendships and caring for loved ones are the subjects of this poignant, easy-to-read picture book. When Boy gets sick, family and friends try to help him get well. Mom brings soup. Dog brings a bone, and Bird brings pizza. Though he declines the bone and the pizza, Boy gets well. But now his friends are sick. And now Boy has a chance to help his friends recover.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Juvenile, Friendship, Dogs, Birds

Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

David was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While there, he began illustrating. He is now an award-winning author and illustrator of nearly 200 books beloved by children, parents and librarians across the United States. McPhail has garnered many prestigious awards, including a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year for Mole Music in 2001. McPhail’s other books include First Flight, which the New York Times praised as “hilarious and helpful”; and Lost!, which was chosen as an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists.

McPhail has four children, three stepchildren, and is a proud grandfather. He is married to Jan Waldron, with whom he has written and illustrated several books. He lives in Rye, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Cosette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous beginner reader book!! Much better than last one by same author!

[Molly Springer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this as a read aloud, but it would be great for a beginner reader.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a strange one, but I love it. I love that the bird brings him a pizza. Good stuff.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy is sick. His dog tries to make him feel better, but Mom has everything in hand. Bird comes along with pizza to try to help, but Dog tells him that Boy has soup. Boy gets better and goes out to play. But Bird is now sick from too much pizza. Dog and Boy stay with him until he feels better. Now Dog is sick from eating his whole bone. Bird and Boy stay with him until he feels better. Then they all go to play.

In typical McPhail style, the illustrations are created in watercolor. They are colorful and expressive. The pictures ar large and close up for the younger readers.

This book is a first reader for young readers to read by themselves. The sentences are very short (2-6 words) for easy reading. The story uses repetition of vocabulary. The story is fairly interesting for young readers especially because the animals talk. Some of the sentences did not feel natural to me and I felt they could have been worded better while maintaining simplicity. Very young readers will enjoy successfully reading this book all by themselves.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author-illustrator David McPhail’s soft ink and watercolor illustrations complement the simple text in a picture book about friendships and caring for loved ones.

Boy is sick. Family and friends drop by to help him recover. Mom brings soup. Dog brings a bone. Bird brings pizza. Boy drinks the soup and gets well, but now his friends are ill. Boy now has an opportunity to reciprocate his friends’ generous gestures and help them feel better.

There are many books on this subject. While the story is not a stand-out, the illustrations are quietly expressive. Beginning readers will easily master the text.

[Lynda Shoup]

David McPhail has always been a favorite author/illustrator of mine. He has a beautiful way of simply showing a loving, caring family relationship. This book gently shows children how we take care of each other - a very important lesson. The book is not pedantic and soppy, the message comes through the story rather than smacking you over the head with it. McPhail uses humor , soft illustrations and heart to convey all of this. The additional gem here is that it is a great book for the early reader. The repetitive readings as a child reads this book alone will further reinforce the message. Simple, yet powerful.

[pati · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simplistic! I usually like David McPhail books. I know that this book is for the very young, but the story line is not very interesting and a child who is learning to read will just plod along learning the mechanics of reading as oppose to enjoying a story as they learn to read.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, bird and dog comfort one another as each gets sick in turn. Gentle and warm friendship story.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story wise not an exciting book. Good early reader book though, with lots of sight words and repetitive language and picture cues to help on the more challenging words.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entry in the "I Like to Read" series of books by various authors. I like this for early readers because it keeps the text simple unlike a lot of other early readers!

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

A valiant effort at creating a story with an incredibly limited vocabulary. But alas, as with most of that sort of thing, it falls flat. Boooooring.

[Becky]

Boy is sick in bed and gets better with the help of his mom and his friends bird and dog. Perfect level one easy reader. Great illustrations.

[Becky]

Boy is sick in bed and gets better with the help of his mom and his friends bird and dog. Perfect level one easy reader. Great illustrations.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could be a good choice for a Toddler Time with an illness, dog or friends theme.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was nice but the story fell a little flat for me.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Boy is sick, his friends Dog and Bird try to help him feel better.