Picture Perfect Book Friday - A Good Day

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes was integral to why I fell in love with my husband. It's a simple, but darling story of how a small girl, a fox, a squirrel, a yellow bird, and a little white dog turn their bad day into good. My own children have loved this book so much that I have had to purchase it not twice, but three times.

Before my husband was even a twinkle in my eye, he listened to me reading this book. He was working nearby. He also noticed that I was having my very own bad day. Later on that afternoon, there was a knock on my door. My now husband stood outside with a huge lobster roll. I tilted my head, narrowed my eyes in the shape of a question, and said, "Um, thank you?" To which he replied, "I'm trying to turn this into A Good Day." And, he had.

A Good Day

Written & Illustrated By: Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books, 2007

Suitable For: ages one and up

Themes/Topics: persistence, perspective, joy

Opening: "It was a bad day...Little yellow bird lost his favorite tail feather."

Brief Synopsis: It started out as a bad day for little yellow bird, little white dog, little orange fox, and little brown squirrel. Until . . .

A discovery, and love, and luck and persistence, and a different point of view changed all that. What can turn a bad day into a good day? You decide.

Links To Resources and ideas for use in the classroom:

http://www.kevinhenkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/A-Good-Day-activities.pdf

• Retell the story using colored beads on a pipe cleaner as a retelling bracelet. Have children retell each part as they touch each bead.
• Create a class book of one thing that made for a bad day and how another thing made it a good day. Two pages per child.
• Use in the beginning of school to help kids talk about worries and how to make things better.

Why I Like This Book:  Kevin Henkes is a genius with simple language and beautiful art work. In this book, he makes anyone realize how much good is all around us.