Friendship forever

AMOS Mcgee works at a zoo. Every day he gets up very early, makes a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of tea, and rides the number five bus to work. Amos always makes time to visit his good friends in the zoo. He will play chess with the elephant, race the tortoise, sit quietly with the shy penguin, wipe the rhinoceros’ nose with a handkerchief and read stories to the owl.

One day, Amos wakes up with a terrible cold and cannot go to work. His zoo friends are expecting him, but Amos does not show up. They are worried and decide to find him! They leave the zoo, queue up at the bus stop and hop onto the number five bus. Now they are at Amos’ home!

The elephant plays chess with Amos. The tortoise plays hide-and-seek with him. The penguin sits quietly with him to keep his feet warm. The rhinoceros has a handkerchief ready when Amos sneezes. Amos feels much better with his friends. He shares some tea with them before saying goodnight. All the animals have such a good night’s sleep together snuggled up with Amos.

The author shows some vivid pictures in the story:

a) Every morning when the alarm clock clanged, he swung his legs out of bed and swapped his pajamas for a freshpressed uniform.
b) Belly full and ready for the workday, he would amble out the door.
c) One day Amos awoke with the sniffles, the sneezes and the chills.
d) He swung his achy legs out of bed, and curled them back again.
e) The tortoise stretched his legs and limbered up.
f) The owl perched atop a tall stack of storybooks.

Read the book
Title: A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Author: Philip C Stead
Illustrator: Erin E Stead
Publishing Year: 2010