Recently, I came across a newly published children's book, A Sick Day For Amos McGee, by illustrator Erin E. Stead and written by her husband Philip C. Stead while browsing at the book store.
The story centers around an elderly man named Amos McGee and his friends at the zoo. He takes time out of his day to take care of them. Amos plays chess with the elephant and he races the tortoise. Amos sits calmly with the shy penguin and he lends the rhinoceros his handkerchief when the rhino has a runny nose. At the end of his visit, Amos reads stories to a nyctophobic owl. One day, Amos catches a cold and out of concern, the zoo animals take the city bus to his home to take care of him.
Philip Stead's story is thoughtful, gentle, and delivers a wonderful message to children. Erin Stead's wood-block illustrations are delightful. I enjoyed looking at the quiet beauty of each page. The textured imperfections from the wood-block added a touch of homemade craft, which I loved. Her style and color choice are simplistic (in a good way). She knows just how much detail to add into a character's feature or the siding of a house while leaving certain pieces a solid hue, like the trees.
Check out Ms. Stead's illustration process from the link above. It's always so insightful to see others' way of working out their ideas to sketches to final drawings.
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