Today Is the Day

Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
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Hardcover
$16.99 US
| $19.99 CAN
On sale Oct 13, 2015 | 32 Pages | 9781770496484
Age 6-9 years | Grades 1-4
Mutanu is excited. As she goes about her chores, she thinks about the day to come and what surprises it might bring. For today is no ordinary day at the orphanage she lives in. Every year, the orphanage honors its newest arrivals by creating a birthday day especially for them. From that moment forward, the orphans have a day that they know is theirs--a day to celebrate, a day to enjoy, a day to remember. And today is the day! 

     Based on real children in an orphanage in Kenya, this lovely story shows how something as simple as a birthday, something most of us take for granted, can mean so much in another part of the world.
  • NOMINEE | 2016
    Rainforest of Reading Award
  • FINALIST | 2016
    Shining Willow Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2015
    Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards

“A different sort of birthday celebration is at the bighearted center of this picture book .... Both deeply important and purely joyful.” - Kirkus Reviews


“Together, Walters and Fernandes have become quite the dynamic duo in developing an effective series showcasing the inspiring, courageous stories of resilient, caring children who live in The Creation of Hope’s Rolling Hills residence in the rural community of Kikima in Kenya’s Mbooni District ...." - Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center


“Good reading skills will be required of young picture book readers in order to appreciate the paragraphs of detail about the birthday celebration. The drawings are fun and lovely enhancements of the overall events presented in a winning fictional account of a real situation.” - Midwest Book Review

ERIC WALTERS is one of Canada's best-known and most prolific writers of fiction for children and young adults. His books have won over 120 awards, including thirteen separate children's choice awards, and have been translated into thirteen languages. He lives in Guelph, Ontario, and is the co-founder of Creation of Hope, a charity that provides care for orphans in the Mbooni district of Kenya. In 2014, Eric was named a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contribution as an author of literature for children and young adults whose stories help young readers grapple with complex social issues." For more information, go to www.ericwalters.net. View titles by Eric Walters
Eugenie Fernandes has illustrated and/or written more than eighty picture books, including The Tree that Grew on the Moon, Rise and Shine, and Tom and Francine: A Love Story. She lives near Peterborough, Ontario. View titles by Eugenie Fernandes

About

Mutanu is excited. As she goes about her chores, she thinks about the day to come and what surprises it might bring. For today is no ordinary day at the orphanage she lives in. Every year, the orphanage honors its newest arrivals by creating a birthday day especially for them. From that moment forward, the orphans have a day that they know is theirs--a day to celebrate, a day to enjoy, a day to remember. And today is the day! 

     Based on real children in an orphanage in Kenya, this lovely story shows how something as simple as a birthday, something most of us take for granted, can mean so much in another part of the world.

Awards

  • NOMINEE | 2016
    Rainforest of Reading Award
  • FINALIST | 2016
    Shining Willow Award
  • SHORTLIST | 2015
    Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards

Reviews

“A different sort of birthday celebration is at the bighearted center of this picture book .... Both deeply important and purely joyful.” - Kirkus Reviews


“Together, Walters and Fernandes have become quite the dynamic duo in developing an effective series showcasing the inspiring, courageous stories of resilient, caring children who live in The Creation of Hope’s Rolling Hills residence in the rural community of Kikima in Kenya’s Mbooni District ...." - Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center


“Good reading skills will be required of young picture book readers in order to appreciate the paragraphs of detail about the birthday celebration. The drawings are fun and lovely enhancements of the overall events presented in a winning fictional account of a real situation.” - Midwest Book Review

Author

ERIC WALTERS is one of Canada's best-known and most prolific writers of fiction for children and young adults. His books have won over 120 awards, including thirteen separate children's choice awards, and have been translated into thirteen languages. He lives in Guelph, Ontario, and is the co-founder of Creation of Hope, a charity that provides care for orphans in the Mbooni district of Kenya. In 2014, Eric was named a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contribution as an author of literature for children and young adults whose stories help young readers grapple with complex social issues." For more information, go to www.ericwalters.net. View titles by Eric Walters
Eugenie Fernandes has illustrated and/or written more than eighty picture books, including The Tree that Grew on the Moon, Rise and Shine, and Tom and Francine: A Love Story. She lives near Peterborough, Ontario. View titles by Eugenie Fernandes