A Sick Day for Amos McGee is a 2011 children’s picture book written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead. The book depicts a zookeeper who has bonded with the animals he cares for and who come and visit him one day when he gets sick. Phillip Stead wrote the book hoping his wife Erin would illustrate it after a period where she had become discouraged with her art. The book was well reviewed, and Erin won the 2011 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations. The book received praise for its woodblock illustrations and for its message about what friends will do to help and support each other.

Amos McGee is a punctual man who goes about his day the same way every day. He swings his legs out of bed, puts on a fresh uniform and hops on the #5 bus at 6:00am to go to the zoo. While at the City Zoo, Amos always makes time to visit his good friends and always gives them exactly what they need. He follows a reliable agenda of activities with each of his favourite animals: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros and the owl. Amos plays chess with the elephant, who thinks long and hard before each move, races the tortoise and lets him win, sits quietly with the very shy penguin, lends a handkerchief to the runny-nosed rhinoceros, and at dusk reads to the owl, who is scared of the dark. One day, however, Amos wakes up with a terrible cold. He decides that he won’t make it to work. Because Amos is a reliable friend, his dear friends start to wonder where he is. Getting worried, the animals leave the zoo and hop onto the #5 bus to Amos’ house. To comfort Amos, each animal stretches beyond his or her fears to help a friend recover. Afterwards, they all go to sleep, as they have a morning bus to catch that takes them back to the zoo.