A Good Day

by Kevin Henkes, Kevin Henkes (Illustrator)

Overview

A bad day can turn into a good one! Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes's masterful picture book explores a single day from five different points of view. 

It’s a bad day for a little yellow bird who loses his favorite tail feather, a little white dog whose leash gets tangled, a little orange fox who can’t find his mother, and a little brown squirrel who drops her nut. But then something good happens to each of them, turning a bad day into a good one.

What makes a good day? What makes a bad day? And how can bad be transformed into good?

This exploration of opposites and emotions was described as "a deceptively simple picture book, expertly tuned to the emotions and imaginations of young children" by ALA Booklist in a starred review.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061140181
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2007
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	182,104
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; two Newbery Honors, one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller; and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include The World and Everything in It; A House; A Parade of Elephants; Chrysanthemum; and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; two Newbery Honors, one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller; and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include The World and Everything in It; A House; A Parade of Elephants; Chrysanthemum; and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Hometown:

Madison, Wisconsin

Date of Birth:

November 27, 1960

Place of Birth:

Racine, Wisconsin

Education:

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Website:

http://www.kevinhenkes.com

Editorial Reviews

Deeply satisfying. …Henkes’s illustrations…speak volumes through simple details, managing to express pure joy in just the arched shape of an eye or the angle of an ear. … A Good Day is the rare example of near-perfection in a picture book.

Horn Book (starred review)

There is real resonance in this tale, rooted mostly in the suggestion that bad days can turn into good days on a dime.… This begs to be read again and again.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

An almost perfect picture book .…It must be said: Kevin Henkes is a genius.

New York Times Book Review

Sublimely simple.

Washington Post Book World

A deceptively simple picture book, expertly tuned to the emotions and imaginations of young children.

Booklist (starred review)

There is real resonance in this tale, rooted mostly in the suggestion that bad days can turn into good days on a dime.… This begs to be read again and again.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

An almost perfect picture book .…It must be said: Kevin Henkes is a genius.” — New York Times Book Review

“Deeply satisfying. …Henkes’s illustrations…speak volumes through simple details, managing to express pure joy in just the arched shape of an eye or the angle of an ear. … A Good Day is the rare example of near-perfection in a picture book.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“A deceptively simple picture book, expertly tuned to the emotions and imaginations of young children.” — Booklist (starred review)

“A glorious celebration of the simple joys of childhood.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A fine choice for the lap set.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“There is real resonance in this tale, rooted mostly in the suggestion that bad days can turn into good days on a dime.… This begs to be read again and again.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Sublimely simple.” — Washington Post Book World

From the Publisher

"It was a bad day....Little yellow bird lost his favorite tail feather." Three other creatures endure similar mishaps, but everything works out in the end (especially for a little girl who finds a yellow feather for her hair). Award-winning Henkes reassures young kids that all is right with the world, using bright, expressive watercolors and a few well-chosen words. (ages 1 to 3)
The March 2007 issue of Child magazine

PreS-Gr 1
Employing the thick lines and uncluttered illustrations reminiscent of his work in Kitten's First Full Moon (Greenwillow, 2004), Henkes tells the story of four creatures who start out having a bad day. A bird loses his favorite feather, a dog gets her leash tangled in a fence, a fox loses his mother, and a squirrel drops her nut. But then, the squirrel finds an even bigger nut, the fox is reunited with his mother, the dog frees her leash, and the bird discovers he can fly higher than ever, even without his feather. The animals' triumphant expressions and perky postures, in sharp contrast to their former dejected demeanors, bear witness to the fact that the bad day has turned out to be a good one after all. In a surprising twist, a young girl finds the bird's feather, "tuck[s] it behind her ear," and runs to her mother shouting, "What a good day!" A reprise of all four creatures in the last scene as the excited child seeks out her parent is the perfect conclusion. Full-page, pastel-hued watercolor-and-ink illustrations appear framed opposite each page of large, brief text. This gentle story affords an opportunity to introduce the very young to ways of dealing with life's small disappointments. A fine choice for the lap set.
—Marianne SaccardiCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

What makes a good day good? This deceptively simple work opens with calamity: Little yellow bird has lost his favorite tail feather; little white dog's leash has gotten tangled up in the fence; little orange fox has lost his mother; and little brown squirrel has dropped her nut. "But then . . . " The ellipsis has magic in it, turning all these bad days into good. Each creature's turnaround unfolds in reverse order, small shifts in behavior and attitude making the change. Henkes uses the bold lines and serene compositions that were the hallmark of his Caldecott Medal-winning Kitten's First Full Moon (2004), adding sunny watercolors for an appropriately cheery whole. The full-page illustrations, framed in the same brown ink that delineates each animal, appear opposite the minimal text, allowing the child reader to absorb each scene in its entirety with the turn of a page. Rounding out the pleasing circularity of events is a little girl's happy discovery of little yellow bird's feather: "Mama! What a good day!" A glorious celebration of the simple joys of childhood. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews