Zookeeper Amos McGee always follows the same routine. Every day, after breakfast and tea, he takes the number five bus to the zoo and visits the animals. But one day when Amos is sick and doesn’t show up as usual, the worried animals decide to take the number five to Amos’s house to check in on their friend. Erin E. Stead’s woodblock printing and pencil illustrations use color sparingly and purposefully—contributing to the soft, calm tone of this story. Playful characterizations (the tortoise wins races, the rhinoceros always has a runny nose, the owl is afraid of the dark) add to the gentle humor in Philip C. Stead’s comforting story of friendship with a creative and rewarding conclusion. Honor Book, 2011 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 3–8)

THE BEST SICK DAY EVER and the animals in the zoo feature in this striking picture book debut.

Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee's case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it's time they returned the favor.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year and the winner of the 2011 Caldecott Medal. This title has Common Core connections.