I'm Not Feeling Well Today [Library Binding]

Shirley Neitzel (Author), Nancy Winslow Parker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Anyone who can turn pages can read this book. And what fun it is! If you're not felling well today, the prescription for felling better--quickly--is:

A box of tissue

A cat

Cartoons on TV

A bear

And a whole bedful of other things guaranteed to make any day a happy one!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr-2-In this cumulative rebus story, a boy is sick in bed and begins to list the things he needs in order to feel better. "I need Clyde the cat with me in bed,/and another pillow for my head,/and an extra blanket if you please,/and a box of tissues in case I sneeze-." The book also doubles as a memory test because readers must continuously review the ever-growing list of items accumulated. Parker's childlike rebus illustrations replace the text for each essential the youngster requires. The story line is reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's poem "Sick," but lacks its playful spontaneity. Neitzel's rhymes are formulaic and uninspired. While the premise and rebuses are inventive and fun, this offering is not as fresh or engaging as this team's earlier titles.
Louie Lahana, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-7. The team that produced The Dress I'll Wear to the Party (1999) and other books presents this new story in which a young boy describes the things he will need "since I'm not feeling well today." Like the earlier book, this one is made up mostly of cumulative verses and rebuses that allow prereaders to participate and increase their sight-word vocabulary at the same time. Parker's crisp pictures, expertly rendered in watercolor and lightly outlined in black pen, depict each item on the boy's list--TV cartoons, puzzles, puppets--as a large, nearly full-page illustration, then again as a rebus in the text. The boy's list of needs ends about three-quarters of the way through the book, and a funny rhyming text takes over: "You say if I were really ill, I'd not complain, I'd just lie still?" In a surprising plot twist, the boy finds out that school was cancelled for the day: "Hurrah! Hurray!" The cumulative verse element of the story makes this a good choice for choral reading, with each child or group of children reciting a line and perhaps creating their own rebus picture. Older children can also make up their own cumulative verse and rebus stories as an enrichment activity. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (March 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688173810
• ISBN-13: 978-0688173814
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,065,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Rebus Book!, February 18, 2003

By 

Stephanie (NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm Not Feeling Well Today (Hardcover)

I'm Not Feeling Well Today is a fun rebus rhyme about a child who claims to not be feeling well because he doesn't want to go to school. My daughter quickly had the story memorized and loved "reading" the list of things the boy would need to help him feel better.

The story is very cute and the rhyme is fun. Children will love participating in the story and you won't mind reading it again and again. It is a great book to introduce to children who are getting ready to read.