During the rainy season, it becomes all too easy to just want to hang out indoors, laptop at one’s fingertips and a to-do list needing to be checked off. Should I be surprised that my preschooler wants to watch episode after episode of Daniel Tiger? Written and beautifully illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, On a Magical Do-Nothing Day follows a young girl as technological boredom inside becomes what she thinks will remain boredom outside. But that boredom is anything but uneventful and unexciting! After losing her connection to a game device (which she brought outside), and through meeting snails, walking among mushrooms, and digging hands in dirt, the young girl comes to see the outside world as something worthy of experiencing, even in the yuckiest of days.
While it is wonderful for parents to get outside with their kids, sometimes parents DO have things they need to work on. On those days, parents can push their kids outside to do what kids are meant to do: explore, play, and get dirty. In our current culture of over-scheduled weeks for kids, On a Magical Do-Nothing Day serves as a reminder that it is okay – really, it is – to have days where kids should let boredom lead the way to discovery and play. And allowing that happens begins with encouragement from parents.
Enjoy these images of the artwork in On a Magical Do-Nothing Day (click to enlarge):
Title: On a Magical Do-Nothing Day
Author & Illustrator: Beatrice Alemagna
Published by: Harper Collins, 2017
Pages: 48
Suggested Age: Preschool, Elementary (Lower)
Purchase: Amazon (affiliate link), Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound (or check your local library!)
More:
Book trailer and sample from the publisher
Reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Brain Pickings, and The Guardian
