( 4 reviews )
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Posted: Mar 21 2009
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.
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Posted: Aug 24 2008
I'm so torn. On the one hand, this is a simply-written, repetitive book about the real start of spring - a flower in the snow - and how all the animals react to that. On the other hand, the artwork is a little uninspiring, and I'm not certain black-and-white is the color scheme to go with here. Definitely read before you buy.
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Posted: Jan 9 2008
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.
