One Fine Day

This reminds me of a more wholesome version of "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly"

Most kids of "picture book age" are attracted to cumulative tales like THE OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY or THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT because of the repetitive patterns and the easy logic to the simple plots. ONE FINE DAY is another great example of a cumulative tale. The basic story involves a talking fox who drinks an old woman's milk. In a rather violent move that doesn't seem to bother most kids the woman bloodlessly cuts off the fox's tail and refuses to "sew it back on" until the fox gives her back the milk. The now tail free but still resilant fox goes through the forest and tries to barter some milk from a cow who will give him milk if he gives her grass, a field that will yield grass if the fox will give it water, a stream that will give water if the fox brings a jug and so on. Our fox hero is finally triumphant and brings the replacement milk to the old woman who true to her word "carefully sews his tail in place" and all ends happily as the fox "ran to join his friends on the other side of the forest." The illustrations are appropriate and well convey the setting which appears to be Eastern Europe in a past century. Kids seem to like the reassuring ending to the fox's problem as well as the classic repetition of the folk tale.

It is with great pleaser that I review my all time favorite Armenian story which my grandfather used to tell me. Nonny Hogrogian did a great job of translating this story. The text is almost exactly translated. The illustrations are a perfect resemblance of Armenian characters. The vast fields remind me of the rigorous landscapes of Armenia. Nonny Hogrogian did an excellent job depicting the culture. The story is cumulative, similar to There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. It teaches a great lesson and is bound to be an all time favorite of many children.

An old woman chops off a fox's tale after he greedily laps up her milk. In this cumulative folk tale, the sheepish, tail-less fox must barter with man and beast to obtain milk to repay the old woman to get his tail back. The illustrations beautifully capture the penitent and forlorn character of the fox throughout his journey. The gentle hills of the eastern European countryside spread across the pages, evoking quiet rural life. This book won the Caldecott in 1972. As a folk tale that never reveals its setting, this book really doesn't address its apparent Armenian cultural origins. The only clue as to its cultural origin is the costume of the characters: the old woman's babushka, the peddler's fez, and the miller's apron. For children, and perhaps others, this may simply read as "old-fashioned." Comparing and contrasting this with other folk tales - particularly other cumulative folk tales - from other cultures might bring these subtle cultural aspects into sharper focus for children.

Follow poor Fox on his short-lived journey to get back his tail. After drinking the milk of an old woman, a young fox gets his tail cut off. He then has to go through many people, animals and even a few non-living "things". Will the poor fox ever find an end to his colorful journey to get his tail back and go play with his friends?

This book won the Caldecott Medal as the best illustrated children's story of 1971. The vivid colors will brighten your day! The story itself is a retelling of an Armenian folk tale. The book is exceptional for the fable, the moral it tells, and the dynamic illustrations that turn the fox's frustration into an adventure for the reader. "One fine daya fox traveled through a great forest.When he reached the other side he was very thirsty.""He saw a pail of milk that an old woman had set downwhile she gathered wood for her fire.""Before she noticed the fox, he had lapped up most of the milk.""The woman became so angry that she grabbed her knife andchopped off his tail . . . ."Thus, the story begins.The fox begs for the old woman to sew his tail back on. Otherwise, "all my friends will laugh at me.""'Give me back my milk,' she said, 'and I'll give you back your tail.'"The fox finds a cow who is willing to help, but wants grass in return. The fox asks a field for some grass, and the field asks for some water. The fox goes to the stream, which tells him to get a jug for the water. From there, the fox finds a fair maiden who has a jug, but wants a blue bead. The fox finds a peddler who has a blue bead, but wants an egg. An hen offers an egg in exchange for some grain. The fox finds a miller who has grain. "The miller was a good man and felt sorry for the fox." With the grain given to him by the miller, the fox proceeds to do all of his barters. In the end, the old woman "carefully sewed his tail in place, and off he ran to join his friends . . . ."As you can see, the language is simple so you will find this book helpful in assisting your child to learn to read around ages 4-6. The illustrations carefully match the words, which will help remind your child which words are on the page.The book is valuable for introducing a number of important themes. For example, if you do something wrong, people will be angry. They may even punish you in some way. Further, most people want something in exchange even if they are willing to help. Beyond that, even those who want to help may not be able to (the stream could not transport the water it would give freely).Most importantly, without the kindness of a stranger (the miller) the fox would have been out of luck . . . even with all of his efforts. After you finish the story, I suggest that you also ask your child what lessons are here. Children are famous for spotting unintended ones as well as fundamental truths that adults easily overlook. Have a great discussion!Seek balance in all that you do, especially when you redress an imbalance . . . whether caused by you or others! Don't forget to play the role of the miller!