Once Upon an Ordinary School Day

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View books by Colin McNaughton.

An out of the ordinary book - Rated
My 3 and 5 year olds loved this book. We read it frequently for weeks after borrowing it from our local library, and now I think we should have our own copy. They loved the repetition and routine of the ordinary day and how it becomes extraordinary. They loved the language and were intrigued by the sudden change into colourful illustrations from the black and white. It is a wonderful book, one of the most memorable that I have read with my boys.

An extra-ordinary book - Rated
The combined text and illustrations in this book are totally captivating for both adults and children. The story and pictures start off very grey and ordinary, but as the humourous and skilful writing cleverly moves the story forward and the characters listen to music and begin to create stories in their minds, the illustrations come alive with colour and charm. The pages of pictures without words allow the reader to enter into the character's world and to develop their own ideas about what the ordinary boy can see and hear. My class of 28, 5 and 6 year olds were so captivated by the book that they want to do their own story writing to music! What more could an 'ordinary' book hope to achieve, but to inspire young children to write?