Common Sense Media Review
By Patricia Tauzer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
A great lesson in a beautiful toddler book.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 2+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
The day does not start out well for the yellow bird, white dog, orange fox, or little brown squirrel. But then things change. Ultimately, all turns out well, for all of them as well as for the little girl who shouts to her mama, "What a good day!"
Is It Any Good?
Kevin Henkes creates another masterpiece with this book for younger readers. The lines of each drawing are simple and thick, yet delicate; the brown-outlined watercolors look much like woodcut prints. The text is straightforward and simply put, and the lesson is one we all should take to heart. Henkes, an award-winning author/illustrator, zeroes in on important lessons, and this is among his best work.
When each animal faces a moment that threatens to ruin his day, readers can empathize. "But then" are two words that change the world. Life does move on, things turn around, and what seemed like a bad day is suddenly good -- and what had created fleeting disappointment in one world adds to happiness in another. What a great lesson, and what a beautiful book!
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how it feels when things go wrong, and how temporary most disappointments are. What is a bad day? Why did the bird feel his day was bad? What about the white dog? The orange fox? Or the little brown squirrel? What changed to make their days better? What kind of day did the little girl have? What made it good? What would have happened if the yellow bird had not lost his feather? Have you ever had a bad day? How long did it last? What did you do about it? Have you had good days? What made them good?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Kevin Henkes
- Genre : Picture Book
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Greenwillow Books
- Publication date : February 27, 2007
- Number of pages : 32
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate