The Great Day by Taro Gomi
The Great Day is the newest book from the prolific picture book author Taro Gomi. I'm not sure if there is a parent out there who does not know his classic book published in 1993, Everyone Poops. Gomi is the author of many picture books as well as a growing collection of superb doodle and drawing books, most of which can be seen here. The Great Day reminds me of a favorite of mine, Kevin Henkes A Good Day, which begins, "It was a bad day." While The Great Day doesn't employ the narrative twist that makes Henkes's book so memorable, it does something similar in showing children that even good days can have bad moments. The Great Day begins, 
Following the boy over the course of a day that will be familiar to little listeners, the boy is the first to "leap out the door," "the "first to jump over a garbage can," the "first to climb up the slide." He is also the "first to fall down the slide" and the first to cry. But he is also the first to laugh. And the first to argue and the first to make up. As the day comes to the end, the boy is the first into the bathtub, the first to finish dinner and the first to be tired. The Great Day ends where it begins, with the boy in bed, this time his eyes closed.
Toddlers and young children are by nature extreme in their emotions. Everything is either black or white, good or bad. A picture book that can show children that there is a flow to every day, a flow that comes with ups and downs, especially a wonderful book like The Great Day that shows a child bouncing back, is a much needed addition to the shelves!
A few of Taro Gomi's excellent doodle books!
Source: Review Copy
