Amy Schwartz once again delivers a delightful story in "A Glorious Day," a picture book about four not-so-different families living in an apartment building in the city. The sequence of an entire day is described in interesting detail and illustrated with bright colors.

At first the book seemed to have far too many details and illustrations, but I came to realize that this simply makes the book interactive and a great source of conversation. Children can compare their daily routines with those of the one baby, two little girls, three big boys, four little boys, two cats, and the bird that live in the red brick building. The children in the story wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, go out to play or to school, take naps, have playtime at the park, come home and have dinner, get baths and bedtime stories, and then finally go to sleep. Although these activities may seem quite mundane each of the four families goes about their daily routine in a unique way.

The families themselves are also unique. Schwartz makes an effort to create diversity by varying the appearances of all four families and their members. Henry and his mother have pinkish skin and bright red hair, while the triplets have brown skin and short black braided hair. Peter and Thomas also have brown skin, but they have short brown hair that is very, very curly while their father has pale skin and red hair. Picture books with such obvious diversity are hard to find, and Schwartz provides a valuable addition to the world of children's literature with "A Glorious Day." ( )