Review: Once Upon an Ordinary School Day

Once Upon an Ordinary School Day by Colin McNaughton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For a fuller explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf.

Good news, everyone. GoodReads managed to correct one of the lists! I am truly delighted to be back on the Reviewers list among so many people who provide such a useful and entertaining range of reviews from serious literary criticism to casual one liners to whimsical projects.

Now, about fixing the Readers list.

I loved this book. The notes I jotted down as I read this comprise rather more words than the book itself. The short version is the Kitamura's art brings vibrancy and color and delight that reflects and underlines the point of the text. Plus Kitamura puts a cat in each painting. The first two-page spread is so bland and so ordinary, showing the student's morning routine: in the background behind him in the hall you can see his bedroom, where he's still in bed, and the bathroom, where he's brushing his teeth, and peeing, and taking a bath, and the dining room where he's eating breakfast and the kitchen where he's kissing his mother goodbye. It's as if you're seeing every moment of every ordinary day at once, because it's always the same.

And then a new teacher brings magic into their lives and everything is different.

Library copy

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