Once Upon an Ordinary School Day - Hardcover

McNaughton, Colin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374356343 ISBN 13: 9780374356347

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2005

Synopsis

A celebration of extraordinary teachers!

The boy's breakfast is ordinary, his walk to school is ordinary, even his thoughts are ordinary. But when he goes to his classroom and sits down at his desk, his day begins to change - a new teacher, Mr. Gee, bursts into the classroom with an extraordinary idea that challenges all the children to use their imagination. Suddenly an ordinary day is turned topsy-turvy, and the boy is inspired in a way that will change him forever.

The rollicking words and pictures celebrate the unexpected in this tribute to great teachers and students everywhere.

Once Upon an Ordinary School Day is a 2006 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

About this title

About the Author

Colin McNaughton has written and illustrated over sixty children's books. He lives in London, England.

Satoshi Kitamura is the prize-winning author and illustrator of many books for children, including Me and My Cat? and, most recently, Comic Adventures of Boots. He lives in London, England.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2–An ordinary boy awakens to an ordinary school day. The story opens with drab scenes depicted in shades of gray that turn to Technicolor several pages in, with the arrival of a new teacher in a yellow suit. Little does the ordinary boy know that his indistinguishable routine is short lived, thanks to Mr. Gee. The creative-writing lesson begins with his instructions to listen to the music and let it make pictures in your head. Imaginations run wild; the text and illustrations become more expansive. Scenes fill with color and the words are more descriptive. The point of the story is obvious: the ordinary boy exudes, "that was the best lesson ever." Deftly rendered cartoon drawings convey the expressive gestures and transformation of the characters and scenes. Readers will giggle at the beginning and end as the young protagonist performs his daily bathroom routine before school and bed. An excellent selection to start the creative juices flowing or to enliven an ordinary day.–Marian Creamer, Children's Literature Alive, Portland, OR

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374356343
• ISBN 13: 9780374356347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Kitamura Satoshi
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32