Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Johnny Lion's Bad Day

Rate this book
All three beloved Johnny Lion books are back! Whether he is reveling in the adventures of his first book, finding a cure for the rainy-day blues, or experiencing all the misery—and coziness—of a bad, bad cold, Johnny Lion is a delight. Edith Thacher Hurd's lively text is perfectly captured in the tender illustrations by her husband, Clement Hurd, the illustrator of Goodnight Moon .About the The legendary team of Edith Thacher Hurd and Clement Hurd created nearly fifty books for children. Clement Hurd is also the illustrator of the cherished classics Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny , both by Margaret Wise Brown.

64 pages, Library Binding

First published June 16, 1970

3 people are currently reading
62 people want to read

About the author

Edith Thacher Hurd

90 books8 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
26 (28%)
4 stars
22 (24%)
3 stars
24 (26%)
2 stars
15 (16%)
1 star
3 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,497 reviews289 followers
October 19, 2025
Johnny Lion has a cold and has to stay in bed all day. He occasionally drowses and has some bad dreams, but it's unclear if he is having fever dreams or if they are induced by the medicine his parents keep pouring down his throat -- cough syrup in the 1960s when this book was written could contain a large percentage of alcohol and/or other substances now strictly controlled.

My daughter insisted on a ritual of me reading her books about colds, illness, and check-ups whenever she got sick, and this was one of the regulars, along with some Pooh and Berenstain books. She liked this one, but no matter how many times I read it, I never grew fond of it. Too many dream sequences for my taste.
Profile Image for Elisabeth.
300 reviews
May 29, 2023
Should be called Johnny Lion's Fever Dreams or Johnny Lion's LSD Trip. Wow! One might conclude that medicine is bad because it gives you bad dreams. A book about being sick is good. A book about being comforted after bad dreams is good. But both together make it problematic.

It's especially fun because it's done by the same illustrator as Good Night Moon and Runaway Bunny. Be sure to read these together, so your child will have nightmares of those rabbits coming after them, just like Johnny Lion! AAAAHHHH!!
Profile Image for Alexander.
54 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2019
I like how Johnny lion got better the next morning
Profile Image for Lynn  Davidson.
8,281 reviews36 followers
June 13, 2019
Little Johnny Lion had a bad cold and had to stay in bed all day. It seemed that every time he was given medicine he had a strange dream. Cute imaginative story. 64 pages.
Profile Image for Briana.
735 reviews15 followers
January 16, 2026
Long and in that category of levelled readers that aren't really that interesting, no offense, so the best you can say about them is they help kids practice reading.
69 reviews1 follower
April 18, 2011
This book was terrble! It was very outdated and the pictures were just bad. I don't see myself using this book anytime in my own classroom because it is dull and boring!
Profile Image for Theresa.
8,358 reviews135 followers
September 7, 2011
Johnny is sick, he is having bad dreams, he talks to his parents about them and is reassured. Early reader
Profile Image for Amanda_DJ n' Zac .
181 reviews4 followers
February 13, 2013
DJ read this with his Auntie today, while she visited... this kid will beg everyone to read with him! :)
Profile Image for Markus.
248 reviews3 followers
April 17, 2013
Johnny is stuck in bed sick, but the worst part is that the medicine is causing him to hallucinate.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.