A Screaming Kind of Day

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Hearing-impaired Scully is having a bad day. She and brother Leo have
been fighting since they woke up. Scully disobeys her mother and goes
out to play in the rain. When her mother, soaking wet and losing all
patience, hauls her inside, Scully throws a temper tantrum, screaming,
“I hate you! I hate you!” Sent to her room, Scully falls asleep,
lulled by the patter of the rain. It’s amazing how an afternoon nap
can change things. When she wakes, Scully is in a much better frame of
mind, Leo is not nearly so aggravating, and mother’s stress has
diminished. Even the rain has gone.

A Screaming Kind of Day is a story with which readers young and old
will readily identify. Who has not experienced the kind of day that the
author describes? Gilmore has also been able to capture and convey the
fascination with nature common to all young children and exhibited by
Scully. Her joy and delight with “the way the green sings with the
rain” and the rain that “hops, laughing all over me” are almost
palpable.

Gordon Sauvé’s wonderful illustrations clarify and supplement the
text perfectly. The result: an ideal union of words and pictures. Highly
recommended.