What Is the Sun?

A gentle bedtime poem follows the loving conversation between a grandmother and her grandson as she soothes his curiosity by providing replies to his every question.

PreSchool-Grade 1-As he gets ready for bed, a young boy asks his grandmother questions about the sun, moon, wind, and rain. Her simple, rhyming answers appear in italics beneath or beside his queries. Lambert sets small, white-framed scenes of the woman and her grandson within double spreads of the child and his large dog experiencing the joy of being outdoors in all seasons. The soft pastel cartoon drawings have an impressionistic look. The pieces of the fanciful mobile (sun, moon, stars, cloud, and rainbow) above the boy's bed are juxtaposed with their real counterparts, and the boy is shown blasting off into space and deep-sea diving as well as engaging in more realistic play. Because the illustrations vacillate between reality and fantasy, this attempt to provide simple and truthful answers to common childhood questions suffers from a lack of focus. Constantly changing perspectives add to the confusion. Better choices are Ellen Kandoian's Under the Sun (Dodd, 1987; o.p.) or Charlotte Zolotow's When the Wind Stops (HarperCollins, 1975; o.p.).
Marianne Saccardi, Whitby School American Montessori Center, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Parents enduring the "Why?" stage of child development will appreciate this poetic, serenely illustrated explanation of the sun and other natural wonders. A bedtime conversation set in verse, the narrative is crafted from a boy's questions and his grandmother's patient replies: "What is the sun? / The sun is a star. / Is the sun near? / No, it is far." One subject flows naturally into the next, from the sun to the moon, tides, wind, rain and earth. A few rhymes are forced--"The wind comes and goes? / It goes right through your nose!"--but most are clever, imparting just enough information to satisfy curious preschoolers. Full-spread illustrations depict the topic discussed--such as the wind blowing a pinwheel--while insets show the grandmother preparing the boy for bed. Lambert's colorful pastels are rendered sweetly, a festive yet peaceful backdrop for a tender bedtime exchange that most families will identify with. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.