From Publishers Weekly
Henkes's latest combines the thick black line of his Caldecott Medal–winning
Kitten's First Full Moon with the vivid palette of his mouse books to showcase a soothing story about turning lemons into lemonade. Four animals—a sun-yellow bird, a white terrier, an orange fox and a brown squirrel—face small disappointments that threaten to ruin their moods. The bird loses a prized tail feather, the dog tangles his leash around the fence, the fox has lost sight of his mother, and a meaty acorn plummets out of squirrel's grasp. But before even a hint of gloom can settle over an otherwise sunny day, Henkes briskly reverses gears and reveals these momentary losses—of self, freedom, love and food—as gains. The skillful circularity of this simple tale is capped by a nameless barefoot girl who finds the bird's "perfect yellow feather" and jauntily tucks it behind one ear. "Mama! What a good day!" she cries, running into the house in a wide angle shot that shows each of the story's other creatures at home in her front yard. A perfectly pleasing parable for the lap-reading crowd, who will find reassurance in the way each animal conquers an obstacle and finds his or her reward. All ages.
(Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 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 Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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