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Deborah Diesen
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Picture Day Perfection Hardcover – Picture Book, September 3, 2013

by Deborah Diesen (Author), Dan Santat (Illustrator)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 110 ratings
See all formats and editions
  It’s picture day, and the boy at the center of this charming picture book wants to make sure his picture is perfect. It seems as though everything’s going wrong for him―he has bedhead, a stained shirt, and a big scowl on his face. But when he goes up for his picture, he thinks about his terrible appearance, and he smiles―because he secretly wants his picture to be the worst ever taken! But just as he smiles, the photo is snapped and his plan is ruined―the photo looks great.
Perfectly paired with the larger-than-life silliness of Dan Santat’s illustrations, this is sure to be a schoolroom favorite. It will come bound with a picture frame in the back so readers can add their own class photos to the book.
 
Praise for Picture Day Perfection
"A clever tale about a kid who wants this year to be his showcase for the perfect school picture."
--Kirkus Reviews
 
"Colorful yearbook-style endpapers are fun to pore over and even include a place to insert one’s own picture, though this feature will be compromised by most library processing. This slapstick picture book will appeal most to school-age kids who will get the jokes peppered throughout the text and the visuals."
--School Library Journal

"The narrator’s malleable features are in a perpetual state of contortion as he plans his photo disaster and reacts to the series of unfortunate events that conspire to bring him glory. Clever bits such as the scribbled emoticons on his September calendar page, and the sepia- and gray-toned faces that play in his imagination add to the fun."
--The Bulletin of The Center for Children’s Books
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  1. Reading age
    5 - 7 years
  2. Print length
    32 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Kindergarten - 2
  5. Lexile measure
    570L
  6. Dimensions
    9 x 0.5 x 11 inches
  7. Publisher
    Harry N. Abrams
  8. Publication date
    September 3, 2013
  9. ISBN-10
    1419708449
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1419708442
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-Bold, exaggerated images done in Adobe Photoshop set the comedic stage for this story of picture-day preparation, which for the narrator began months in advance. All the preplanning culminates at the start of the book on picture-day morning with severe bed head, a favorite shirt rescued (stained and smelly) from the bottom of the hamper, and a sticky maple-syrup incident. Things continue on in this vein throughout the school day. Readers will wonder about the narrator's choices considering his professed devotion to taking the perfect picture. Carefully worded text gives away nothing, but as the photographer prepares his camera the real plan for the day comes clearly into focus. The child's idea of the perfect picture may look quite different from what his mother had in mind, and it is still not easy to orchestrate the outcome of a photograph. Colorful yearbook-style endpapers are fun to pore over and even include a place to insert one's own picture, though this feature will be compromised by most library processing. This slapstick picture book will appeal most to school-age kids who will get the jokes peppered throughout the text and the visuals.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

This young boy has a plan for a “perfect school picture.” There are, however, a few bumps. Insane bed-head. A stained shirt. A “large syrup disaster” at breakfast. A paint splattering in art. It’s a nightmarish swirl of problems leading to the moment of truth—where it’s revealed that the boy’s plan isn’t what we thought it was all along. Diesen has created a memorably grinchy hero, whose cynical observations and grumpy disposition make him the kind of harmless bad boy it’s hard not to like. He scowls and mugs through double-page, full-page, and smaller illustrations, which the ever-reliable Santat renders with comic aplomb, preferring to pose his antihero straight toward the reader for maximum pop-eyed appeal. Side characters are similarly exaggerated for immediate identification: the jowly, pearled teacher; the heavy-browed bus driver. For such a bad attitude, this is a pretty darn good time. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; SEW edition (September 3, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419708449
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419708442
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 - 7 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 570L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Kindergarten - 2
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 0.5 x 11 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 110 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Deborah Diesen

    Deborah Diesen

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    I'm the author of the Pout-Pout Fish book series, illustrated by Dan Hanna. I'm also the author of Equality's Call (2020), illustrated by Magdalena Mora, a children's picture book about the history of U.S. voting rights.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Dan Santat

    Dan Santat

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Are We There Yet?, and After the Fall as well as the illustrator of many other picture books, including Crankenstein by Samantha Berger. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets. He invites you to visit him online at dantat.com.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
110 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the vibrant illustrations in this picture book. They find it a good story to read aloud and use for inference. The story entertains kids and helps students make predictions and draw comparisons between characters.

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5 customers mention "Illustrations"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the vibrant illustrations in the book. They find it a fun story with an engaging storyline that keeps their children's attention. The book is suitable for picture day reading and provides a good opportunity for students to draw and paint self-portraits.

"This book is hilarious. Charming pictures, a fantastic story that will entertain the kids as well as yourself...." Read more

"...The focus of the lesson was reading comprehension. Students drew self-portraits and painted them." Read more

"...This book doesn't disappoint! Fun story and vibrant illustrations that kept my son's attention." Read more

"This is Picture Day Reading Perfection. My students loved hearing it. I loved being able to download it so quickly to my iPad." Read more

4 customers mention "Reading comprehension"4 positive0 negative

Customers like the reading comprehension in the book. They say it's a great book to read aloud and use for inference. The students love it.

"...Read it to 4th graders who enjoyed it. The focus of the lesson was reading comprehension. Students drew self-portraits and painted them." Read more

"This book is a wonderful book to read aloud and use for inference." Read more

"My students loved this book!" Read more

"Great reading" Read more

4 customers mention "Story quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story. They find it entertaining for kids and adults, with vibrant illustrations that keep their attention.

"...Charming pictures, a fantastic story that will entertain the kids as well as yourself. A modern must for every young readers library" Read more

"...This book doesn't disappoint! Fun story and vibrant illustrations that kept my son's attention." Read more

"Love this story!! Read it to my first day class and there are a lot of activities that you can do for readers response." Read more

"Cute story! Used for teaching students predictions and outcomes of stories." Read more

4 customers mention "Use"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book useful for teaching students about making predictions and inferences. They also say it's a cute story with funny parts and pieces that kids can find comparisons between their classmates and the characters.

"...book they found so many funny parts and pieces and could find comparisons to our classmates and the characters in the books." Read more

"This book is a wonderful book to read aloud and use for inference." Read more

"Awesome book to use for teaching prediction....because they never guess the ending!!!" Read more

"Cute story! Used for teaching students predictions and outcomes of stories." Read more

Perfect read for school picture day
5 out of 5 stars
Perfect read for school picture day
Ugh! Picture day. As a parent of a strong-willed child, picture days were stressful. Mostly because I wanted a good picture of my son. My pride and joy. Although, he often had a different idea of a good picture. I remember one year, writing on the photo card, please remind him to smile like your mom showed you this morning. And he did! Unfortunately, he "styled" his hair in the bathroom before pictures at school and took off his button shirt that I selected for him to wear, leaving his favorite pajama shirt underneath with a stain on his shirt and most of the collar worn out due to over-washing.I thoroughly enjoyed the reading of Deborah Diesen's Picture Day Perfection, in which she provides a student's perspective of this yearly event. The story begins with an explanation that this boy has been planning the perfect school picture for months and then includes that some days not everything goes according to plan: bedhead, unclean shirt, syrup mishap, trouble on the bus, miscommunication on the photo form, and more. You start to feel sorry for this boy. When it comes time for the picture to be taken, he comes up with a new plan for the perfect school picture.After reading the story of this boy, I was curious of my son's perspective of his picture day. Was he doing these things on purpose to despise me or was this his perception of perfect?
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Carla Morgan
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite children's books
    Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book is hilarious. Charming pictures, a fantastic story that will entertain the kids as well as yourself. A modern must for every young readers library
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  • HurtFeet
    5.0 out of 5 stars Read it to 4th graders who enjoyed it. The focus of the lesson was reading ...
    Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Bought this book for a reading and art activity. Read it to 4th graders who enjoyed it. The focus of the lesson was reading comprehension. Students drew self-portraits and painted them.
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  • K. Moyer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Funny book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    My students absolutely love this book they found so many funny parts and pieces and could find comparisons to our classmates and the characters in the books.
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  • Angie Stone
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read Aloud
    Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This book is a wonderful book to read aloud and use for inference.
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  • Allison Renner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful picture book!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    My son got this as a gift for his first birthday because he (ok, *I*) love both Deborah Diesen and Dan Santat. This book doesn't disappoint! Fun story and vibrant illustrations that kept my son's attention.
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  • lauren lagreca
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love this story
    Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Love this story!! Read it to my first day class and there are a lot of activities that you can do for readers response.
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  • Brenette Taylor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Reading
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    My students loved this book!
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  • Live Outside
    4.0 out of 5 stars Cute book and a surprise ending
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2014
    It’s true, you plan and you plan but sometimes things just don’t turn out how you want them to. Picture Day, that day in school where some children dress up, they try to smile just right, get that plastic comb from the photographer at school for finishing touches on their hair but when they get their pictures back in a month or so, they look forward to next year where they will finally get it all right. In this book, this boy plans for months on getting the perfect school picture. His morning begins with a bad hair day, a messy breakfast, bus issues, the wrong background color for the shirt that he wore and a few other issues that would definitely make a bad school picture. As the photographer gets ready to snap his picture, the boy contemplates what his picture will be like. Click! The ending will surprise you.
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