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PRESCHOOL
Arnold, Elana K.

An Ordinary Day

40 pp. | Simon/Beach Lane | March, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4814-7262-3 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-4814-7263-0
(2) PS Illustrated by Elizabet Vuković. This moving story opens with an introduction to Mrs. LaFleur, who is watering her flowers; the children playing together outside in the neighborhood; and a noisy crow named Magnificent. Turning our attention across the street, we see medical personnel entering two side-by-side houses. The family on the left is saying goodbye to their beloved old golden retriever; in the house on the right lives a woman about to deliver a baby. In one home, there's a final breath exhaled, and in the other, a first breath taken. A striking penultimate spread is filled by the black wings of the ever-present crow as "the world shifted": "It was an ordinary day in the neighborhood. It was an extraordinary day in the neighborhood." Arnold deftly draws parallels between the interior drama of the two homes--for instance, in each one music plays, "soft and without too many words." Specific details ground the story: Mrs. LaFleur always overwaters her roses, and the dog's name is Sally. Illustrations, in shades of gray, blue, and brown, include touches of warm reds, and the soft edges of the art match the hushed quality of this bittersweet tale.
Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

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