One Magical Day
Pre-K – 1st grade
The most notable thing that strikes me as I read this book is the Freedman’s use of rhyming words. The last word of the first sentence always rhymes with the last word of the second sentence. There are only two sentences for every two pages. The first sentence tends to be a cause and the second sentence tends to have and action or effect from the first sentence.
Macnaughton has beautifully illustrated this book in a very whimsical manner. The animals and nature that are drawn are realistic but everything has a feathered or softened appearance. Macnaughton has used very natural colors that would be seen in nature. The color palette chosen and the whimsical effects of the illustrations give the reader a feeling of calmness or peace.
This book would be appealing to a younger audience due to the fact it has a lot of mother, child type depictions which younger children can still identify with more than an older audience. It is playful and talks about animals, which younger children love farm and forest animals.
I really liked this book because of the calmness of the illustrations. The pictures were soft and peaceful. I loved the descriptive language and the rhyming words. I especially liked, “Into the stable the warm sunlight streams, bathing the foal with its soft, golden beams.” The text fit the illustration perfectly and it seemed as if the kids would almost feel warm too while they read this page.
Subject Connection:
Language Arts:
Lesson on verbs and descriptive words.
Using a graphic organizer, sort which animals belong on the farm and which animals belong in the woods.