One of Those Days

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Rebecca Doughty (Illustrator)

Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair. Have you ever had a day when . . . your favorite pants shrunk in the wash? your best friend was being a beast? you were too short to go on the best ride? no one would listen to you? Well, take heart—you’re not alone. Everyone has one of those days sometimes. And even if you bowled gutter balls or your nice sweater made you itchy, at least there’s a bright side—a brand-new day is waiting for you tomorrow, and you can laugh at those days when they’re over.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Emotion, Growth Mindset, Kids, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2006

About the author

SHORT BIO:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal was.
She divided her time.


NOT SO SHORT BIO:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal was a person who liked to make things.
Some things she liked to make include:

Children's books. (Little Pea, Spoon, DuckRabbit)
Grown-up books. (Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life)
Short films. (The Beckoning of Lovely, The Money Tree)
Guided journals. (The Belly Book)
Something out of nothing. (see above)

A longtime contributor to WBEZ and to the TED conference,
Amy lived with her family in Chicago and online at whoisamy.com.

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read with kids; it offers all kinds of ways that can make a day, "One of Those Days." But it also helps in the fact that even the worst of days comes to an end and there's always a new day coming. It's a good way to stimulate discussion with children about their day and their feelings. We've read this one a couple of times.

[Sadia Mansoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book & concept! Completely agreed with this book..

After reading this book, I will say "today was one enjoyable reading day" :) ^_^
Here's the book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgSvM...

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to reread this when I read that Amy Krouse Rosenthal died this week. I love this book. A good lesson for my #1 son, the uber-pessimist.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone has had "one of those days" when nothing seems to go right. Here, Rosenthal, with illustrations by Rebecca Doughty, gives many examples of "bad days."



My favorite was "Keep spilling stuff day." That happens to me all the time.

And, while no solutions are given for preventing bad days, the book ends with the promise that tomorrow will probably be a better day.

[Jaksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book, strange pictures. (But I like children's books with 'strange art!)

But I think I liked it better than the four-year old grandson I was reading it to. He kept looking around the room and he is a boy who likes to read books, or have them read to him. So I got in the habit of saying to him, 'Did you ever have a day (or time) when this happened to you?' In other words, I tried to draw him into the book.

Sadly, it mostly didn't work. He would shake his head and say things like, no, my friends have never been mean to me, or no, that hasn't happened, or even better: has that happened to you? (To me?)

We had a hard time identifying with the situations in the book, in other words. So to be fair, it was a book we barely finished, which I know he'd never pick up on his own just to look at the pictures, which does happen with many of the books we read together.

I did pick this book up (and other books by Rosenthal) because I'd never read any of her books to either grandson. I wanted to read them, too, because I felt at a loss when I read of her recent death, and the highly-publicized letter she wrote in the NYT. I was like - where have I been! I read books to my grandsons all the time! I buy them, borrow them, hunt them down, but I missed hers. I can see the feeling in them, the poignancy, the often-delicate way she has of approaching topics, but this one was not a hit with us. Makes me sad to realize that.

[Alexa Maring · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all have bad days. There are days when things are just not going our way, and as a young child this can be a concept that is difficult to handle. Read this to a student who is having a rough day and let them know that we all have "one of those days" and tomorrow is a new day! I love the part in the story where it is a "sad for no reason day". I know for me, I have those days and I cannot explain what is wrong. Children have those days too! They have those days where they are just upset, there is not an understandable reason they can figure out to explain their emotions. Sometimes we just have days, and it is important for everyone to know that there are times where we are just waiting for that day to turn to night so we can have a new day. :) The illustrator sends a wonderful message through her drawings that is not explicitly stated by the author. Everyone has these days. The pictures show a different child for different days, rather than illustrating one child going through all of the days. I love this because it let's those having "one of those days" know they are not alone in how they feel.

[Fjóla · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I like some of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's work, I'm finding it quite uneven, and this is in my opinion one of her weaker books. It doesn't have many words, in fact, my almost five year old read it aloud to me all by himself. It's really just a list of grievances. But while a Kindergardener will have no problem getting the big picture, some of the ideas may be above their head. And in fact, as opposed to for instance Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, this book is more sarcastic than cute. Maybe middle school children are the intended audience. I didn't care for the pictures at all. Were they drawn with an etch-a-sketch? However, they don't miss to include every shade of pink, peach, tan, brown when portraying the children, so that's a plus (see The Day the Crayons Quit ).

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely relate to the subject of this book--especially with some of the days!!! And it's a marvelous ending. I'm not the biggest fan of the illustrations though. There is humor, yes. And talent in conveying the emotions and such. But it didn't click for me in this book.

Rating is more of a 3.75.

8/5/10 This went amazingly well with the school-age group. The theme was "Been There, Done That." And I asked kids if they'd ever had "one of those days." They raised their hands for which ones they knew. Even the parents and daycare providers were raising their hands on some.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author and Illustrator:
When you read this book, each page gives an example of having "one of those days" with a very clever illustration. All those illustrations help students to find connection to their own life.
Personal Response to the Book:
This is a cool book to teach kids that we need to find our own way to cheer up for ourselves when we having some difficult situation.
Evaluation of Educational Purpose:
In my point of view, this is a great book to 2rd-4th grade students.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

My older son really liked this book. He can be easily frustrated some times, but since reading this I've heard him say, "Oh, it's just one of those falling days," or what ever the frustrating thing might be.

[Zonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each page gives an example of having "one of those days" with a very clever illustration. I especially like "Big Day Kinda Dissappointing Day" - it is his birthday and he is holding up a pair of underwear. Sure to get a good laugh at storytime. Great discussion started for kids.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

We could relate to most of these days.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This children's book actually bummed me out. It's a list of different ways your day can be not as you hoped and then ends with "but tomorrow is a new day!" and you're left thinking, yes, but what will go wrong then? Not for anxious kiddos or anxious adults (me.)

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Of Those Days by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a picture book about a girl having one of those days — over and over again. Her favorite pants are shrunk, her best friend is being beastly, and no one seems to want to listen to her — among other problems.

Rosenthal uses her list making prowess (see her memoir, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life) to humorous ends here. After my daughter and I read and laughed over Rosenthal's examples of "one of those days" we made up some of our own.

One of Those Days is a good reminder for anyone — child, parent or teacher, especially, that it's not always possible to have a good day. One doesn't always feel happy, or have good luck or get the attention they want, and that's okay.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, this is going to sound really nit-picky, but the "thesis" of this book (I know that sounds ridiculous given that this is a picture book, but bear with me) is that "Some days are one of those days. And the thing is, there isn't just one kind of one of those days -- there are tons..."

And then Rosenthal proceeds to talk about things like:

Annoying Sibling Day
Running Late Day
One Freak Hair Day...

et cetera, et cetera.

But here's the thing:
Isn't "one of those days" a day when ALL of those annoying things happen, not just each of those things happening on a different day? I don't know. Maybe I'm reading into this way too much. But whenever I think of it being "one of those days" I think that all those things are happening, not just one.

[Magila · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

A cute book with simply drawn, somewhat drab (on purpose) art about what happens when when you have one of those days. This is an important message for any little child to learn. Sometimes, things just don't go right for you.

The message was solid. The art form followed the content of the story, but it still seemed to be a little wanting. I wished the ending was just a tad stronger.

Overall, you might want to pick this book up and return to it whenever your child is going through a rough spot, or particularly whiny/feels like life isn't fair. Maybe there is even an adult or two you'd like to pick this book up for.

Recommend.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another fantastic picture book for young children from the very talented Amy Krouse Rosenthal. One of Those Days gives a brief description on each page of various ways a day can take a turn for the worse. My daughter and I both nodded along and interjected comments like “yep, had one of those days before” or “those are the worst!” This would be a great story to share with a child or a classroom full of them when you notice the day is just not going well and open the door to communication. Sometimes just acknowledging that the day isn’t going well and why can be all it takes to turn it around. Or, at the very least remind kids that it is just a bad day, not a bad life.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! After all, who hasn't had "one of those days"?

The author/illustrator has some fun naming a few examples, such as ...

annoying sibling day, running late day, one freak hair day, "no fair!" day, favorite-pants-too-short day, keep-spilling-stuff day, and so forth.

The scrapbooking part of me screams, "this would be such a fun theme album"!

There is a hopeful finish -- "Luckily, every single "one of those days" eventually turns into night."
--turn page-- "And every single night turns into a brand-new day."

Hey! I just discovered there is a youtube of this book! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgSvM...

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about feelings--it’s ok to have “one of those days,” no matter what kind of day that happens to be. The book goes through a myriad of different “one of those days” days, and it is guaranteed that everyone has been there at least once! But the good thing is, that “each of those days eventually turns into night, and each night turns into a brand new day.” The message this book sends is fabulous--all kids feel down sometimes, and they need to know that it’s ok! Because each day is different, and each one stands to be better than the last.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another affirming concept book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The premise is that we all have bad days, and those bad days come it lots of different forms. Each day is accompanied by a clever illustration to extend the idea. This would make a good jumping-off point for some writing (write about a time when you had a "too short day" or a "spilling stuff day.") The good thing about those bad days we all have is that they end in a night, and the night leads to a brand new day.

[J. S. Seebauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful tales reminds that each of us can have "one of those days" that is different from someone else's.

I plan to use with two different groups. With my MH students I plan to explore the phrasing, while with my regular ed students I want to discuss what other "one of those days" we could add & depict.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect companion to Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day (Viorst). I love the way the multi-ethnic characters reinforce the universality of having a "bad day", big or small. These two titles each conclude with a "go to sleep and start again tomorrow" hopefulness. Fantastic options for text-to-text, text-to-self discussions, reflections, writing prompts.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

JP A small book that describes in quick words and simple but funny drawings all sorts of bad days such as "annoying sibling day, no fair day, etc.
Because of the size of the book, this is better for a smaller group...younger elem.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the illustrations look a lot like Lauren Child, who does Charlie and Lola. But it was really cute and so true how we all have "one of those days." I also liked the ending how all those days turn into nights and all those nights turn into new days. Good outlook.

[JaNeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple idea with humor and insight. I didn't love the illustrations, but they definitely fit the tone of the book. The ending is worth every page turn--something worth remembering on "One of Those Days."

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me laugh out loud and feel so understood (except that my pants are too tight rather than too short). The illustrations were the perfect accompaniment to the matter-of-fact text. I especially loved the bright and cheery ending after all those gloomy days.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really sure how to classify this book, so I will put it with poetry since this reflects how I will use it with kids. Poignant, relatable book about the types of disappointing days we all experience.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book made me feel ahhh - comforted. Calmed in the knowledge that all of us have "One of Those Days" and for a vast number of big and small reasons. Yes, the comfort in knowing those feelings are universal.

[Kate Busch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes through all the bad kind of days you could have. It is very simple and could be used for young students. I would use this for students having a bad day. It is a quick read and at the end it reminds us that every bad day has an end and starts with a brand new day.

[OnceUponALibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty simple idea-showing examples of different types of bad days. Cute. Kids might have more ideas of what kind of bad days they can think of. Cute quick ending--each new day can be a fresh start. :)