Sick Day

PreS-Gr 1—This sequel to Boy, Bird, and Dog (Holiday House, 2011) continues the eponymous trio's gentle adventures. Sick in bed, Boy is offered soup from Mom, a bone from Dog, and a pizza slice from Bird. He chooses the soup, and the next day he is fine. Bird and Dog decide to eat their proffered foods-and wind up not feeling so well themselves. So Boy patiently sits with them during their malaise, and after some naps they're up and about and ready to play. Talking animals and birds who eat pizza add a modicum of make-believe to a story otherwise firmly grounded in the everyday life of a young child. The ultra-spare plot is fleshed out with sweetly humorous touches in the ink and watercolor illustrations that offer ready clues to textual meaning. Designed in picture-book format but with controlled vocabulary, this title and others in the series could be a welcome change of pace for emerging readers.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT