Lauren McLellan LIS 721 Picture Book Analysis Feb.

12, 2012

Amos the zookeeper has some extraordinary animal friends. In the heartwarming story of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, the zookeeper cares for a penguin, an elephant, a rhinoceros, a turtle, and an owl, all who care for him when he is sick. The soft, life-like illustrations add to the sentimental, tender tone of the story. The strength of the illustrations to tell the story is remarkable, perhaps a reason why this picture book won the Caldecott Medal in 2011. While text is arguably necessary in a few parts of the story, much of the story can and does function without text. Looking at pages 10, 18-19, and 23, it is clear that the illustrations convey an abundance of emotion and information, rendering the text irrelevant in some cases.

Why exactly do Erin E. Steads illustrations single-handedly capture the readers heart and tell so much of the story? Her ability to give expression and emotion to animal faces is a key factor to this success. The drooping eyes of a rhinoceros or elephant express their sadness. The squinting eyes and upturned smile of the tortoise convey his gladness. The postures and gestures of Amos communicate nearly as much as his facial expressions. Examining some individual pages of this story will demonstrate the expressiveness of the illustrations and how they relate to the text.
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On pages 18 and 19, the animals wait for the number five bus to arrive. There is no text given here, but Ms. Steads illustrations negate the need for text. The illustration of the bus stop sign and the lack of action on the sidewalk indicate that the animals are waiting for the bus. The realistic colors, relative sizes, postures, and facial expressions of the animals all add to the story. The lifted, turned head and slight smile of the tortoise make him appear to be patiently daydreaming. The realistic colors and relatively realistic sizes of the animals make them appear life-like on the page. The personification of the animals, along with their realistic depictions, gives them a magical quality the possibility that animals can accomplish tasks like playing chess, running races, and reading books.

In her book, Picture This: How Pictures Work, Molly Bang discusses how color can have a stronger impact on the readers interpretation of an illustration than any other element in a picture (74, 76). So, while the elephant may look enormous and the rhinoceros horns may appear sharp their muted tones suggest that they are calm and gentle creatures (Bang, 12.) The roundness of the rhinoceros and elephant also suggest their softness (11). The soft, muted colors throughout the book magnify the tenderness and gentleness of the relationships between Amos and his animal friends.

Page ten is where the first real need for text is seen. All the previous pages show action in which the reader can gain a general understanding of the storyline. Here all

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that is seen is Amos and the penguin next to each other, one sits and one stands. Interestingly, the text does not tell the reader more than he or she could infer from the picture. Each previous page, however, depicts some sort of clear action or event. The text is merely complimenting the illustration in this case.

Without the text, the reader could easily misinterpret the meaning of the illustration i.e. Amos gave the Penguin socks because his feet were cold, the penguin was teased by the others and Amos encouraged him, Amos listened to the penguin tell stories, Amos promises to get back the balloon the penguin lost, etc. While the reader could infer different meanings from the other pages if they were missing text, it is much more likely to occur on this page due to the lack of action.

The only consistently bright color seen in the illustrations is red: a red balloon, a red book and the penguins red socks. The rhinoceros wears a red scarf, but it is a muted hue of red. Molly Bang believes readers associate the color red with blood, fire, excitement, danger, passion, etc. (8). This story has nothing to do with any of those themes. Perhaps Ms. Stead uses the bright red to draw attention to aspects of the illustrations that are important, but might go otherwise unnoticed.

Page ten is the first time the bright red balloon appears in the story. It appears at the top of the page, drawing the readers eye up. According to Bang, objects placed higher in an illustration give a sense of floating or flying, (54) and higher means

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happier or freer or more spiritual (60). The balloon certainly appears to be floating freely above the penguins. The balloon also brings attention to the penguins on the rocks as the reader looks up. The reader can then notice that Amos penguin friend is separate from the other penguins. Perhaps he is lonely due to his shyness. So, the illustration, in turn, complements the text by providing extra information that the reader can ponder over.

On page 23 the first instance of unnecessary text in the story is found. In fact, this text does not seem to align with the illustration. Amos happy face and clasped hands clearly depict how he feels about his friends unexpected visit. And, while he is happy about his friends arrival, the text conveys more excitement than Amos is showing. As a sick, elderly man it seems unlikely that he would use so much acclamation. This exclamation also seems out of character from the quiet nature of Amos presented in the rest of the story.

The bright yellow walls and the bright red balloon, however, help to convey a feeling of happiness and thrill. Yellow brings about an association with the sun (Bang, 74) which is warm and brilliant. Red brings about a feeling of excitement (Bang, 32). The colors in the illustration help the reader to feel the joy of Amos in that moment.

The sweet storyline of, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, fills a readers heart and the story is made even tenderer by the happy illustrations. The beauty and simplicity of

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Ms. Steads illustrations is ultimately what makes the story so wonderful. Philip Stead thought of a great idea for a book, but it is truly the illustrations that tell the story. Though the animals never have any dialog, they tell so much. If only everyone was as lucky as Amos McGee to have such caring animal friends!

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