Sun Wishes

March 1, 2022
The sun sends the world and its inhabitants warm thoughts for peace, unity, and positivity. A smiling sun shines down on each double-page spread, just as the moon did in Storms and Pavlovic's previous book, Moon Wishes (2019). Using the refrain "if I were the sun," the narrator describes the sun's movement from sunrise to sunset throughout the seasons of the year. The sun is personified as a serene explorer, muse, and comforter who lovingly wakes the world with "a gentle morning song" and ends each day with peaceful rest. In between rising and setting, the sun explores "every corner of this wondrous earth." Alas, the narrative is disappointingly disjointed--the sun flits among pages that depict African wildlife, a school of smiling fish swimming up toward the sun, and a bear fishing in a river. Looking at the world from the sun's point of view, the narrator is better able to "delight in all our differences"--the accompanying illustration shows 11 disparate birds perched in the same tree. Meanwhile, human diversity is portrayed on other pages: Happy children--some with brown skin, others with pink skin--make snow angels; a man using a wheelchair sits at a harvest table; and an Asian-presenting man wearing a conical hat walks across marshland. Pavlovic's loose mixed-media, colored-pencil, and ink illustrations use warm colors and are as consistently uplifting as Storms' pretty but desultory word pictures. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A sweet and well-meaning lesson in personification and metaphor, but this picture book fails to shine. (Picture book. 4-7)

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June 1, 2022
Grades K-2 "If I were the sun" begins this poetic exploration of how the sun could inspire a child's appreciation of the natural world and life in general. Imagining the many ways the sun affects daily life for people, plants, and animals is an effective way to help children see themselves as part of a larger community of existence. Complicated words in the text are balanced by illustrations depicting recognizable parts of a child's world. A sleeping dog is ""slumbering""; a rainbow image is paired with the word jubilant. A picture of a group of people who look different from one another corresponds with tapestry. Spreads with many types of birds and fish illustrate the concept of differences, while splashing, reflective water is luminous. Mixed-media ink-and-pencil illustrations reflect the muted tones of early morning, then move through the brightness of the afternoon and into the fading light of evening. The visual/textual dichotomy ends appropriately with a child quietly preparing for bed, described as resting peacefully.

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September 1, 2022
"If I were the sun, I would sing a gentle morning song," begins Storms and Pavlovi's (Moon Wishes) second collaboration, which invites readers to ponder what they might see and do if they were the sun. Storms's meditative, poetic text contrasts with Pavlovi's lively mixed-media illustrations, creating a bracing whole. Writer and artist each demonstrates deliberation and care in their choices. Storms respects young readers' intelligence with juicy vocabulary (jubilant, vivid, tapestry, revel, luminous). Pavlovi feeds their curiosity with specific imagery. A variety of people and creatures that are seemingly leading interesting, full lives are depicted in particular landscapes: a bear catches fish; people go sledding and make snow angels; etc. Almost every illustration is a color-filled double-page spread that includes enough detail and suggests enough activity to be its own story, which is exactly what the sun would see as it goes about its day -- story after story after story. The sun's day is technically never done, but parents of young children won't mind the closing suggestion that the sun "would rest peacefully at the end of a busy day...knowing tomorrow I would shine once more." Adrienne L. Pettinelli

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
"If I were the sun, I would sing a gentle morning song," begins Storms and Pavlovic's (Moon Wishes) second collaboration, which invites readers to ponder what they might see and do if they were the sun. Storms's meditative, poetic text contrasts with Pavlovic's lively mixed-media illustrations, creating a bracing whole. Writer and artist each demonstrates deliberation and care in their choices. Storms respects young readers' intelligence with juicy vocabulary (jubilant, vivid, tapestry, revel, luminous). Pavlovic feeds their curiosity with specific imagery. A variety of people and creatures that are seemingly leading interesting, full lives are depicted in particular landscapes: a bear catches fish; people go sledding and make snow angels; etc. Almost every illustration is a color-filled double-page spread that includes enough detail and suggests enough activity to be its own story, which is exactly what the sun would see as it goes about its day -- story after story after story. The sun's day is technically never done, but parents of young children won't mind the closing suggestion that the sun "would rest peacefully at the end of a busy day...knowing tomorrow I would shine once more."

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)