A little boy recounts the events of his family's busy day, from waking up, getting dressed and off to day care, until his Daddy picks him and his baby brother up and brings them home.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A boy goes through a typical day at a breakneck pace, impelled by Barrett's (Sing to the Stars) stringently metered text. Beginning in the morning, when the entire family gets ready in the bathroom at once ("Quick, go potty!/ Daddy shaves./ Mommy, in the shower, waves./ Sister, SWISH-SWISH, brushes teeth./ Baby's diaper starts to leak!"), the narrative follows the boy through to the moment when Daddy arrives to pick him up from day care, and ends with a goodnight kiss. In her picture book debut, Murphy uses gouache paints in flat, bright colors with a liberal use of pattern, and does a commendable job of filling in between the lines of the sometimes choppy text. For example, when the boy is the last to be picked up from school, the illustration conveys his anxiety with pulsing colors and subtly conflicting design motifs. This benign book may help kids to think of day care as routine rather than scary, but its focus on the rhythms of the day is not wholly successful. It fails to convey what can be warm and comforting about daily rituals, so the boy's life seems simultaneously hectic and dull. Ages 2-6. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
PreSchool-Barrett presents a whirlwind tour of the ups and downs of a young boy's day. The scope of the book is broader than just day care; it begins with the family's waking, the morning ablutions, the car ride to day care, and, back at home, dinner, and bedtime. The pace of the rhyming text is a bit hurried, yet busy families will relate to the all-too-familiar activities. "Quick, go potty!/Daddy shaves./Mommy, in the shower, waves./Sister, SWISH-SWISH, brushes teeth./Baby's diaper starts to leak!" The illustrations, done in gouache on watercolor paper, while attractive, reinforce the sense of busyness-wallpaper, clothes, and rags are splashed with loud patterns and bright colors, creating a larger sense of disorder. There are even a few moments of sadness-a tear shed when Dad says good-bye and the loneliness felt by the protagonist and his baby brother when they are the last to be picked up at the end of the day. These incidents are, however, countered by moments of quiet tenderness. Overall, an upbeat and positive slice of life.
Christy Norris Blanchette, Valley Cottage Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Christy Norris Blanchette, Valley Cottage Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughts from a teacher...,
By Star (Danvers, MA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Day Care Days (Hardcover)
I am a toddler teacher always looking for great new books to read at circle time - this is it! The story follows a simple format easy enough for 2-3 year olds in day care to understand. The illustrations are vibrant and easy for children to identify with. This is a wonderful book that lets children know that their world is important to us and that the emotions they feel are natural and quite common. This book is requested by my students on a daily basis!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Presents a sense of comfort and is gracefully illustrated.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Day Care Days (Hardcover)
This book is a great way of introducing children to day care. It shows the hectic world that is experienced by millions of working parents and their kids each day in a comforting yet realistic manner. The illustrations are lively - rich, beautiful, opaque colors with swirls, dashes and complex patterns throughout. A treasure for the eyes.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great story and bright illustrations...,
By
This review is from: Day Care Days (Hardcover)
When I first read this book, I thought it was "rushed". Everyone seemed to be hurrying through the day. Then I realized that's pretty much like our own "day care days". I also loved that the daddy in the story is pretty much the primary care giver...he gets the kids dressed, takes them to day care, puts them in bed, etc. My husband is like this, also, so it was great for my daughter to see the daddy taking the kids to day care just like her daddy does. It is one of my daughter's favorite books...She especially loves the pictures and always insists on "naming" all the kids at the day care. (ex. "This girl in the picture is me, this one can be Ann Marie, that boy is Reed".)
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