The Bad Day

by Frann Preston-Gannon

Overview

A timely message about the value of collaboration and helping those in need

Squirrel is left hanging when a search for a tasty nut goes wrong. Meanwhile, Bird has his beak buried in a tree trunk, Snake is tied in a knot, Tortoise is upside-down, and Fox? Well, Fox has a suspicious stomachache. These animals are all having a VERY BAD DAY!
But soon it becomes clear that little Mouse is having the worst day of all, and his friends can only help him—and one another—if they work together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787416604
Publisher:	Templar Books
Publication date:	04/02/2020
Series:	Frann Preston-Gannon
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.45(w) x 11.06(h) x 0.16(d)

About the Author

Frann Preston-Gannon is an illustrator, designer, and award-winning author-illustrator. She is the author-illustrator of By the Light of the Moon and Dave’s Cave and the illustrator of Sing a Song of Seasons and Out of the Blue. She was the first UK recipient of a Sendak Fellowship and spent a month learning from renowned illustrator Maurice Sendak. Frann Preston-Gannon lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Written in rhyming verse, the book conveys an important message in an engaging way: If we all work together and help one another, we can accomplish things we could not do alone. The ink, pencil, and paint illustrations incorporate lots of textures, color variations, and small details (like insect friends on multiple pages) that will hold young readers’ interest, inviting them to return to the story again and again. . . . An easily digestible lesson in teamwork with animal appeal.

—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-03-16
A variety of forest critters experience misfortune.

A squirrel is at a loss: “Oh no—I climbed up high / to get this yummy nut. / And now I’m here, though it appears / I am completely stuck!” A snake has twisted itself into a knot; a tortoise has flipped onto its shell; a woodpecker’s beak is stuck in a tree trunk; a mouse is trapped in a fox’s stomach; and the fox has a bellyache. The squirrel realizes that if they all help one another, they can free the mouse from the fox’s belly. The illustrations show the various animals grappling with their predicaments then solving them by working together. “If I just turn myself around / and use this tail I’ve got, / the bird can fly down from the tree… / and loosen up Snake’s knot,” says the squirrel, for example. Written in rhyming verse, the book conveys an important message in an engaging way: If we all work together and help one another, we can accomplish things we could not do alone. The ink, pencil, and paint illustrations incorporate lots of textures, color variations, and small details (like insect friends on multiple pages) that will hold young readers’ interest, inviting them to return to the story again and again. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An easily digestible lesson in teamwork with animal appeal. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews