Customer Reviews

The Happy Day

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A short children's book about animals hibernating in the winter yet who come out to see a happy sight, a flower growing in the middle of the snow. Spring must be near! The book was a 1950 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustration in a children's book.

As a preschool teacher, I'm always on the lookout for very good, very short books which I can grab off the shelf and read to my students during those moments when I need a filler activity. THE HAPPY DAY is all that, and so much more. This is the perfect book to end class with on the first day of spring, which I've done every spring for 29 years. From the moment I hold up the book, read the title, and ask why it's such a happy day for the animals, my students are involved and invested. Before I start reading the text, I ask the children what the animals on the cover might be looking at. I give them time to speculate, and I start reading after everybody has contributed an idea. Before I make that last page turn, when it is evident the reader is about to discover what got these animals all sniffing and running, I ask again what could it be. The typical response is some kind of food. When I turn the page and reveal that yellow flower, there is ALWAYS an audible gasp from my students. Nobody expects it, which makes it a most satisfying ending. If the adult reader sets the tone properly, and emphasizes the tension Krauss and Simont created in the story through his or her reading, most preschoolers are intensely interested in this lovely story. A book that works this well when read to a large group should work well as a lap book. As a children's book author, I'm a VERY critical reader. THE HAPPY DAY passes muster with me, not an easy feat.

I think this book is really cute, but my son, who is three, is not thrill with it. He thinks its boring. Maybe in a couple of years he will enjoy it more.

I read this book to pre-schoolers in 1965 and to my daughter in 1983. They all enjoyed it. Recently, the past few years, as Spring is arriving in Vermont I think of lines from this book "Spring, spring spring sang the frog! Spring, spring, spring sang the groundhog!" So I think a children's book that stays with you, in your mind for 40 years has something going for it. I always love Ruth Krauss' illustrations. I'm about to order it for a few small children of my current acquaintance.

I love this book! Some people here have commented that they didn't like the fact that the books is black and white. I'd say just the opposite - because it's black and white, (1) it allows the child to use their imagination, and (2) it makes the picture on the last page stand out more. Both my 3 y.o. and 2 y.o. love this book.

This book teaches a nice lesson about hibernating... animals like squirrels and bears come out one at a time until all the sleeping animals are awake to see the first signs of spring. It has great illustrations to help kindergarten-age children understand how the animals hide in different places from the snow. But it was nothing special, to be honest. No real story. Rent from the library and buy one of Ruth Krauss' other gems.

This book in simple text and well done simple illustrations celebrates the coming of spring. A fun read with young children.