Once Upon an Ordinary School Day

by Colin McNaughton, Satoshi Kitamura (Illustrator)

A celebration of extraordinary teachers! The boy's breakfast is ordinary, his walk to school is ordinary, even his thoughts are ordinary. But when he goes to his classroom and sits down at his desk, his day begins to change - a new teacher, Mr. Gee, bursts into the classroom with an extraordinary idea that challenges all the children to use their imagination. Suddenly an ordinary day is turned topsy-turvy, and the boy is inspired in a way that will change him forever. The rollicking words and pictures celebrate the unexpected in this tribute to great teachers and students everywhere. Once Upon an Ordinary School Day is a 2006 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Picture Books, Music, School, Childrens, Art, Fiction, School Stories

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2004

About the author

Growing up in his native England, the young Colin McNaughton had little indication that he would one day become an author-illustrator. There were no books at all in his parents' home, he recalls, but there were always comics. These were his formative literature, and their slapstick humor has been a lasting influence. "I've been talking about the comic format for years," he says. "It's the modern way of telling stories for today's children; it's about movement, the step between film and the book."


Colin McNaughton says he "hated school. The word 'school' still gives me nightmares." Opting for technical college, he admits he even "made a mess of getting in there -- I'd filled out the application wrong, and when I turned up for registration they'd never heard of me!" So he worked at odd jobs for the next year before entering art school. Although his first book was published while he was still in school, Colin McNaughton did not immediately become a full-time artist. He first tried editorial and advertising work, but did not find the satisfaction that he got out of creating children's books. "At the end of it, there it is, a book on the shelf, not like a newspaper in the gutter. In fact, once you start thinking about it, it's a smashing job!" If the response to his books is any indication, children and adults seem to agree that Colin McNaughton is doing a "smashing job."


Colin McNaughton lives in London with his wife.

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a teacher inspires a young boy to leave his ho-hum ordinary life and live an extraordinary life through his imagination, great things start to happen. I love the illustrations in this book, going from boring, monochromatic pages to pictures in full dazzling color. Oh, by the way, my students really enjoyed this book as well!

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy goes to school, the children are bored and the illustrations are grey until a new teacher comes along. He plays the children music and asks them to write about what they hear, they enjoy their creative lesson and colour comes to their day. The children use their imaginations and find their work fun. A lovely story about an imaginative teacher and what a difference it can make having an inspirational and fun teacher who loves teaching.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story, this premise, and these illustrations.

I love how when the ordinary boy and his ordinary day turned extraordinary, the black and white illustrations change into full color ones. In my opinion, the illustrations are really special; the ones in color are just so uplifting; they exude pure joy.

This story is a testament to ingenious and innovative teachers, the imagination we all can summon, music in education, the pleasure of writing what comes to mind, and how we all have inside us what it takes to make an experience extraordinary.

Yay for creative teachers, receptive students, and books such as this.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this story progressed from the ordinary (black-and-white) to the extraordinary (colors bursting in full page spreads) as a boy's imagination is awakened by an exceptional new teacher. Highly recommended for those who teach, or those looking for a little something to brighten up an ordinary day :-) Thanks to my friend Lisa for the recommendation.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Satoshi Kitamura draws it, we will read it. And we were richly rewarded with this picture book. When extraordinary teacher Mr. Gee shows up in an ordinary boy's ordinary classroom, no one knows what to think. Listen to music and write what it makes you see? What's this guy on about? For the ordinary boy, though, it's like a key fitting into a lock that he didn't even know was there. Kitamura does a great job here transitioning from the greyscale ordinary world to the vibrant adventurous imaginary world. One of our favorite children's picture books about creativity and the arts.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pleasant little story about the value of imagination is mainly noteworthy for Kitamura's charming illustrations. I wonder how he achieved that woodblock-like effect. Pen and wash? Charcoal and watercolor?

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ordinary young boy embarks on an ordinary day in this seemingly ordinary picture-book, in which everything - brushing his teeth, getting dressed, having his breakfast, kissing his mother goodbye, and heading for school - happens in the expected order, and expected fashion. Until, that is, a most unusual new teacher arrives in the boy's classroom, complete with musical accoutrement and an unconventional assignment for the boy and his fellow students. Is the new teacher bonkers? Or is something extraordinary about to occur...?

Readers of Once Upon an Ordinary School Day will likely know the answer to that question long before the conclusion of the story, but watching the boy discover the joy, the magic even, of storytelling - watching his imagination soar - is still a rewarding experience. Satoshi Kitamura's artwork, which moves from dull black-and-white scenes to vibrantly colorful vistas, once the boy's new teacher enters the story, perfectly captures the joy of the boy's journey to a greater understanding of the possibilities of writing, and other creative pursuits. All in all, this was an engaging picture-book, with a satisfying story-line, and appealing illustrations (I think I liked the wordless pages the best!), one I would recommend to young readers who sometimes feel that reading and writing are a little dull.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Once Upon an Ordinary School Day' is the story of an ordinary boy who wakes up on an ordinary day, has his ordinary breakfast and goes to his ordinary school. However, this day is anything but ordinary when a new teacher, Mr Gee arrives in the classroom. The children think he is barmy as he tells them all to close their eyes and listen to some music and asks them what the music made them think of. The ordinary boy begins to write as fast as he can as creates an extraordinary story.

I have given this book 4 stars. I particularly like how the illustrations start in grayscale to emphasise how everything is 'ordinary', the repetition of this word also increases this feeling. When the teacher arrives he is coloured in yellow amongst the grey backdrop of the classroom, and as he plays the music, the pages become more colourful until they are filled with illustrations of the boy swimming under oceans and flying above fields as he writes his story.

This book would be suitable for both Key Stage 1 and 2 and could help them to be creative, to use their imaginations and promote how fun writing can be:

"It was as if a dam had burst in his head and words just came flooding out...and the words were his toys and he was lost, lost in the game - the story telling game."

This book could easily lead into a lesson where just like the story, the teacher plays a piece of music and the children write a story inspired by the music they are listening to. Furthermore, as well as encouraging them to write imaginative pieces of writing, it could also introduce them to different types of music and even spark an interest in music.

[jennyreadit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything is ordinary to this ordinary boy, who wakes from his ordinary dreams and even has an "ordinary pee," until he goes to school and Mr Gee plays some extraordinary music to listen to before they write. The music touches the ordinary boy and ignites his imagination. The book begins in an all brown wash and as the boy's imagination grows, so do the colors. This book would be great to read before writing workshop and or for music teachers.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was read to me and for the pages where it is just a picture of his drawing music was played to us. It really added an atmosphere and helped to recreate the scene. I would like to do this if I read this book to children. It would be a good introduction to an art lesson! The story itself is ok but nothing amazing. The illustrations and addition of music make it more special.

[Harriette Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not yet read this book to children but have read it myself and thought it was really good. It starts with how an ordinary boy has and ordinary life but the day soon turns out to be exciting and you never know who might inspire you do to something. I think that young children would find this book very interesting and could spark lots of discussion about who inspires us and why.

[Alyssa Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfectly ordinary boy with quite the ordinary life meets an extraordinary teacher and is never the same. I just love the thought of the eccentric but wise teacher who leads the children to profound discovery despite being scoffed at for being different. This story honors all those who encourage us to try new things, consider different perspectives, and make space to dream. The thoughtful artwork and use of color, or lack thereof, delightfully brings the tale to life. The cover is rather unassuming and may lead you to believe that this is a different sort of story than it really is - so the old idiom rings true. Moreover, the more I think of this tale, the more layers of meaning continue to unravel themselves in my mind - which really is the best sort of thing to happen upon finishing a book. This story was also particularly enjoyed by my 7-year-old son.

[Charlotte Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for linking with music. The boy leads an ordinary life... everything is ordinary as he gets ready for school and at school until he meets his new teacher who brings music alive and the child’s imagination runs wild. The illustrations also change from
black and white at the start where the boys life is ordinary to bursting with colour as the music brings his imagination alive. A great story about the power of music and its importance in a learning context.

[Hester Enthoven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon an Ordinary School Day is a lovely book which explores and promotes the joy of music and creative writing.

I read this book to a year 2 class and they really enjoyed it.

It is a story about an ordinary boy, where everything in his life is ordinary however one day at school he has an extraordinary teacher who plays music to the pupils and asks them to write down whatever is going through their heads. All the children respond differently to the music. The ordinary boy is very excited by all the images and ideas rushing through his head and quickly writes them all down. The story ends with the boy going home, back to his ordinary life, however his dream that night is extraordinary!

The story opens with 'Once upon an...' which is a classic story opener that all children recognize and enjoy. It immediately draws you in to the story and sets the scene.

The repetition of ordinary at the beginning of the book gives the text rhythm when reading and is a great technique for emphasising that everything in this boy's life is ordinary, "ordinary school day....ordinary dreams...ordinary clothes....ordinary breakfast." The illustrations bring the story to life, they are very detailed however everything is a shade of grey. The expression on the main character's face captures his feeling of boredom in his ordinary life.

After the detailed description of what an ordinary life this boy leads, the following section is set up well with "Then, something quite out of the ordinary happened..." This dramatic sentence builds up excitement and interest for the next part of the story. As this is followed by a page turn it offers a great chance, when reading it to children, to discuss the type of language used (e.g. time connective) and it's effect as well as discussing what they think will happen next.

On the next page colour is used to a great effect in the illustrations as the "extraordinary figure" is the only thing in colour.

The use and repetition of ordinary works really well. First it is used in it's usual context to describe common things with nothing of note, then used to describe something different (out of the ordinary) and then within the word 'extraordinary' to describe the total opposite.

Whilst the teacher plays music he asks the children "to let the music make pictures in your head." I think this is a fantastic description of the effect of music and the power of the imagination. This is a nice moment that you can use to discuss the effect of music with children, perhaps playing a piece and discuss their different responses.

Alliteration and adjectives are used to great effect in descriptions of the music "rumbling, rolling, thunderous....boomed and crashed".

Linking the power of music to spark the imagination with writing is clear in the lovely description of how the boy was feeling when writing as the music played, "the words were his toys and he was lost, lost in the game. It was extraordinary." This sentence really captures the excitement of creative writing, something which certainly needs promoting and encouraging to children.

There are two full pages of very beautiful, colorful illustrations of some of the things the boy is imagining, being under the sea with all the creatures and flying high in the sky with birds.

The book ends with the boy returning to his ordinary life in which everything is still ordinary, however his dreams are now extraordinary. This is a great end to the story as it shows how, with the power of our imagination, we can all have exciting, extraordinary elements of our lives.

[Gregory Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many students—boys especially—school can seem humdrum, ho-hum, boring. In a word, ordinary. And so begins this tale. It's an ordinary day with an ordinary home routine and an ordinary trek to school. The boy (himself described as ordinary) settles into his ordinary classroom.

Then the extraordinary happens. A new teacher, Mister Gee, ambles in, carrying an old phonograph and some records. He plays "rumbling, rolling, thunderous music" and invites the children to make pictures in their heads of what they see. Is the man daft or could he be onto something?

While Billy Pearson falls asleep—a veritable dreamer—the other students, including the ordinary boy, use the music and their visualizations as newfound inspiration for the stories they write.

The illustrations begin as muted grays, with color only appearing after Mister Gee's entrance. The story itself reminds us that a dedicated teacher, with a tinge of quirkiness, can trigger children's imaginations and create the spark to make learning memorable. Indeed, the right teacher can make all the difference!

Read more of my reviews at http://boyzread.blogspot.com/.

[Connie Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a delight to read, and I believe it is an extremely refreshing book for children to read. This book begins with a extremely bleak outlook on life, naming everything ordinary. Also the illustrations match up with the tone of the novel at the time. In the bleak beginning, everything is in black and white. Suddenly a breathe of fresh air walks in the form of Mr. Gee. This is shown in the illustrations by Mr. Gee being in color.

This book really inspires children to harness their imagination. It allows them to be creative and make their own unique description of the music. This would be a great exercise to do with the class directly after reading them this book. Not only should this book inspire students, but also teachers should be inspired to be more creative in their lessons. After all, the students moods tend to feed directly off of the teacher's mood and energy level.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just absolutely loved this book. It's all about an ordinary boy and his ordinary life - which all changes when a new teacher, Mr Gee comes to class and does a very different type of lesson with them. This ordinary boy's imagination is woken up and suddenly life isn't so ordinary anymore. He does go back to his ordinary life and routine - but when it comes to dreaming, it's extraordinary now.

I had attended a workshop yesterday by an amazing woman called Felicity Keats. She runs workshops with children, mainly in the rural areas, and ignites these children's imaginations and gets these children writing and dreaming and imagining that anything is possible. Honestly, do yourself a favour and visit her webpage or look her up on Facebook - Dancing Pencils.

What I am getting at here, is that this book and Felicity have me looking at using different ways in which to spark imagination in the young and get them away from the flipping TV and to read, dream and imagine again.

[Deana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It starts out with all the illustrations in ... not really black and white, but maybe... beige? It talks about the ordinary boy, getting up from his ordinary bed, eating ordinary breakfast, brushing his ordinary teeth going to his ordinary school... (and I LOVE that it syas "had an ordinary pee" hahahaha). Ok. Then he goes to school and there is a substitute teacher who plays music and asks the kids to write about what they heard. Suddenly the world is becoming colorful as the kids write their stories, all different. "Some just made stuff up because the music didn't mean anything to them." And there are even some pages with no words, just illustrations of the children flying, swimming, playing in their created worlds.

It's a cute book, but nothing really special about it. Teaches kids to use their imaginations to -make- their lives extraordinary, I guess.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon an Ordinary School Day is a great book to make you think about the way you live your daily life. The book talks of an ordinary boy who goes through the motions of getting ready and going to school. The ordinary boy has a new teacher named Mr. Gee who gives him a whole new perspective on how he looks at things. After a lesson combining music and writing that felt like "magic", the ordinary boy began to have extraordinary dreams.

I think this book would be a great tool to use in an early childhood classroom. This book serves as a great example of using one's imagination. I would use this book to prompt students to listen to a song being played and do a quick write representing how it makes them feel.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the way the teacher showed the students (and reader, too, of course) about the power of music on our imaginations! I would teachers would enjoy the portrayal of a really cool teacher, too.

I liked the illustrations as well, and that they graduated into color when the colorful teacher introduced them to the magic of music.

front endpapers are muted, feature a sleepy boy and birds walking around/ endpapers at back are in bright blue and white featuring a flying boy and flying birds.

I loved the teacher's attitude and his car! Also loved that the book doesn't end with a tangible improvement for the boy just because he has been opened up to music, but simply that he is dreaming, and in color.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this creative book! It's about an ordinary boy who goes to his ordinary school and finds a new extraordinary teacher. This teacher opens the boy's mind to music and story and writing. The only thing that bugged me in the book was the line "got out of his ordinary bed, had an ordinary pee and an ordinary bath..." In my home we weren't allowed to talk bathroom talk, so it's silly that that makes me uncomfortable but there it is. Other than that very minor thing, I think the book is lovely. The illustrations change from muted grays to bright colors as the boy's imagination comes alive. A great book!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when you start to tire of this ordinary story about an ordinary boy who goes to his ordinary school with ordinary black and white illustrations, you are delighted by an imaginative and creative teacher.

He inspires his students to allow themselves to be transported anywhere their mind takes them as he plays some music. And the ordinary boy's imagination brings forth a colorful panorama of animals and jungle sights that is anything but ordinary.

Our girls really enjoyed this book and so did I. More fine illustrations by Satoshi Kitamura.

[TwoDrinks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely book. It's about using your imagination. The illustrations are complementary too as the ordinary ones are in shades of grey and the extraordinary ones are in colour. Nice use of repetition to reinforce use of the word 'ordinary' which made it a good book to read aloud. There are some pages where the story stalls - on purpose - so that the reader can use their imagination to discuss what's happening. This really is the moral of the story and was a nice break in the middle of the book. Yep, I really enjoyed this.

[Efundunke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic for students of all ages. I read this book with my kindergarten students and afterwards played a variety of music, primarily instrumental excerpts from Maxwell, Ella Fitzgerald, Earth, Wind, & Fire, and Branford Marsalis. They closed their eyes for 30 seconds (for each musical selection), opened them, and shared what they saw and how they felt with a partner. Then for 1 minute, they drew a picture of what they saw.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was interesting how in the first couple of pages everything was bland then when Mr.Gee entered with his musical instrument in to the classroom,color began to be introduced. When things became more extraordinary the pages were thronged with color. The imagination adds color to an ordinary world.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I loved the messages about imagination, inspiration of music, and making life extraordinary. Also loved the little hats off to HP. Perhaps its a cultural thing (though I doubt it), but I'm not one to refer to relieving habits by such a crude word--especially in a work for children. I do hate that term, but I suppose it's used often enough by countless others.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the story behind this book. Not only is it great to encourage children to be creative, but it is also a testament to how sometimes a single teacher can change someone's life (I bet when we hear those words, we can all immediately think of that one teacher that was special to us). As a teacher, I can really appreciate a book with both of those messages :-)

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

A great book promoting imagination, writing, and the power of music.

All together, it's a great book, from the language used, to the imagery itself, and the use of color or lack there of. Published about 10 years ago, 2004, this is my "Forgotten Children's Gem Lost to the Stacks" of 2014.

5/5

MH

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally picked up the book because it looked like a good book to read in an elementary classroom. I liked the repetition of the word ordinary and the word extraordinary because it drove in the concept of the book. This book showed that an extraordinary teacher has the power to make an ordinary day an extraordinary one.