What sort of day? by Sally Heinrich

Tuesday Treasure

It simply wasn't a spotty sort of day

It simply wasn't a white sort of day

It simply wasn't a green sort of day

In the past our Kindergarten classes used to begin their year with a colour theme. What sort of Day was a splendid text for this topic. What Sort of Day was published in 1997 and so is sadly out of print. Do you remember the success of Animalia? What Sort of Day follows this same format where you can hunt for objects on every page. The ideas in the illustrations made me smile and there are so many things with a truly Australian flavour.

Here are some highlights or things to look for:

White - flour, rice, white rabbit, Sydney Opera House and great white shark.
Black - ransom note (blackmail), black forest cake, Vegemite and four and twenty blackbirds in a pie.

Yellow - submarine, van Gogh Sunflowers, yellow pages phone book, Goldilocks, sulphur crested cockatoo, hibiscus and lemon meringue pie.
Green - St Patrick's Day, kiwi fruit, greenback (money), ten green bottles and a golf putting green.
Red - dynamite, poinsettia flower, Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, a waratah and Uluru.
Purple - red and blue paint mixed, Purple People Eater record and pulling a plum out of the pie.
Blue - willow pattern plate, blue print plans, little boy blue, blue heeler dog and Bluebeard.
Pink - calamine lotion, pinking shears, iced vovo biscuit, musk sticks, and a pink galah.

You also need to keep your eye out for the chameleon who is hiding in every picture and the teddy bear who adapts his own costume to match with every clothing change.

Along with hunting for things that match each colour and pattern and talking about all the treasures in each illustration there are so many delightful words in this book:

White dress - it made her feel clean and fresh, and very well behaved
Black Jeans and T-shirt - they made her feel powerful and strong, ready for anything.
Green suit - it made her feel peaceful and secure, and full of life.
Red swirly skirt - it made her feel confident and excited, and just a little bit naughty.
Purple velvet pinafore - it made her feel dignified and wise, like a queen.
Long blue dress - it made her feel cool, calm and clever.
Pink overalls - they made her feel pretty and optimistic, and just a little rebellious.

When you read to a child you add to their vocabulary and this is so important. Read the research here. Look at the special words in the examples above - powerful, secure, dignified, wise, optimistic and rebellious.

Here is the yellow page from Sally Heinrich's web site.

If you want to explore more ideas around colours make sure you look for this famous poetry book Hailstones and Halibut bones. Here is the new cover:

Here is a more recent piece of art from Sally Heinrich. I think you can see her fascination with colours and objects has continued.

In 2019 Sally designed the South Australian Premier's Reading Challenge poster:

On her Facebook page Sally posted this memory collage of pages from What sort of day?

Other books by South Australian illustrator Sally Heinrich include Papa Sky (Jane Jolly), One Step at a time (Jane Jolly) and The Most Beautiful Lantern.  Another old book which you might find in a school library with a number focus is her book Cherry Stones.