Facing the Day - Softcover

Gugler, Laurel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1550375768 ISBN 13: 9781550375763

Publisher: Annick Press, 1999

Your face is a mirror of your feelings. Laughing or singing, playing or eating, throughout the day you make hundreds of faces, showing your moods. This story follows a child's face through a typical day, meeting many other faces along the way. The lyrical text is great for read-aloud.

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About the Author:

Laurel Dee Gugler is a storyteller and author, sharing stories since 1988. As well as writing books such as Muddle Cuddle and Monkey Tales, Laurel has written for chickaDEE and Chirp magazines.

Deirdre Betteridge has illustrated many picture books for children, including Bright Red Kisses and Mommy Works, Daddy Works. She also works as a graphic designer and art director, and has developed a line of Carlton Greeting Cards. Deirdre lives with her husband and two children outside Toronto.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-K-A lively girl with wild, springy hair experiences fun and frustration over the course of a single day. The story is told primarily through the watercolor illustrations while the text describes the child's facial expressions. The pictures show her waking up, sneaking food to the dog at breakfast, nearly missing the bus, and trying unsuccessfully to make friends with a new boy at school. Unable to get his attention, she kicks over his block tower. The rhymed, alliterative descriptions of feelings are done in short sentence fragments. "Angry face/Mean words/Furious!/Mad!/Crying face/Hurting/ Feeling very sad./Sorry face/Sagging/ Hanging down my head/Drooping face/ Down-hearted/I'm sorry what I said." Lunchtime cheers her up, and the boy shares a cookie with her. After a boring nap time, the girl and her new friend build a block tower together. Dinner brings a "slurpy-burp" spaghetti supper and then she is tucked into bed with her teddy bear. Although the staccato phrases mimic the girl's energy and swinging emotions, the dizzying pace leaves little room for character or narrative development. It may take several readings and studying the picture for children to understand why the child is upset or happy. Jamie Lee Curtis's Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day (HarperCollins, 1998) is a better choice for a lighthearted look at childhood.
Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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