All in a Day

Rylant is the author of one of my favorite Newbery books. Missing May remains at the top of the list, and I've read many Newbery's.

Thus, I'm not surprised that All in a Day grabbed hold and didn't let go. It is deceivingly simple. But, as most things that take time and practice to craft appear seamless, this book is no exception.

The joy of living shines through each and every page. The pages are filled with gems of wisdom. Again, in life things that seem trite, and phrases that seem overused, are just that for a reason -- there is difficulty in putting feelings into words. Rylant shines through in her ability to accomplish this!

The art work appears older than the time frame of the publication. The drawings are lusciously quaint, tried show more and true!

Here are some of the pearls of wisdom:

"A Day Brings Hope!"
"A Day Can Change Just Everything If Given 1/2 a Chance!"
"The Past Is Sailing Off To Sea; The Futures Fast Asleep;
A Day Is All You Have to Be; It's All You Get To Keep!"

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My thoughts on her lovely insights:

Ask anyone who suffers from chronic pain; Ask anyone who has lost a loved one; Ask anyone who knows their days are limited as they still reach high in the tree for the last golden day of summer and grasp the shining apple...and they will tell you to hold fast to life, to hold fast to hope and to keep it close and treasure.

In a mere 32 pages, the author and illustrator have done an incredible job of celebrating life!

Highly recommended. While this may be a children's book, truly adults will have a wisdom of years and very deep appreciation of the truth and beauty conveyed. show less

This lovely book illuminates all the possibilities a day offers—the opportunities and chances that won’t ever come again—and also delivers a gentle message of good stewardship of our planet. Newbery Medal winner Cynthia Rylant’s poetic text, alongside Nikki McClure’s stunning, meticulously crafted cut-paper art, makes this picture book not only timeless but appealing to all ages, from one to one hundred.

Cynthia Rylant writes about the value of a day. She writes about how many things can happen in a day, and how it is up to us what to make of it. Nikki McClure’s illustrations are really simple, but really bring a lot to the book. The only colors used are black, white, yellow, and blue. The illustrations are of a young boy completing his daily activities such as feeding a chicken and wishing upon a dandelion. I really enjoyed this book, and I love how it can be meaningful to both children and adults.

I enjoyed reading this book! Although there is not a lot of text and the illustrations are not as in depth as others, it is a feel-good read and would work best for a K-2 classroom! I think that this book would work really well as a read-aloud because it is an uplifting book and can be used as a motivation or bridge between subjects in order to keep the students moods happy! Also, the inclusion of the rhyme scheme can help younger elementary students to work on their inferences when coming to the end of a phrase. For example, a page would read “There is a faith in morningtime, there is belief in noon. Evening will come whispering and shine a bright round ____”. But the teacher would not read the last word of that phrase/stanza and show more have the students guess the word based on the rhyme scheme and the context clues.
I believe that the illustrations works well for this book because of the overall simplicity and innocence surrounding it. Because the theme/main message of this book is to live every day and cherish the life you have, the simple, 3-color illustrations correspond well by not overwhelming the reader and keeping the mood airy and light. Also, having the main character be a young boy and the adventures/scenes that he sees and lives emphasizes the main message of “live your life and treasure everything”. show less

All in a Day follows a boy through the activities of his day with positive phrases about the possibilty of a day. The theme is to make the most of today and not worry about the past or the future. The illustrations are beautiful. They really portray the action of a day in a child's life balanced with the message of slowing down and enjoying the here and now. I think this would be a good book to present to someone (child or adult) who tend to worry or have stress.

Simple and rhyming, this is a book brimming with optimism about the opportunities and possibilities in a day,

" A day can change just everything,
given half a chance.
Rain could show up at your door
and teach you how to dance."

The illustrations are in single shades of white, black, pale blue and yellow - reminiscent of this year's Caldecott Medal book, The House in the Night - simple and peaceful in keeping with the sparse, large print text. A beautiful book.

As I heard a child say "that book looks old". It is not a cover that will draw a child in, but hopefully their parent will pick it up, sit their child down and share this wonderfully simple and poetic story of a boy's day. Maybe it will give the parent an idea or two of something they can go out and do with their kid!