Good golden sun

Caldecott Honoree Wenzel's saturated collage and mixed-media spreads trace the sun as it travels across Earth's sky, while wide-eyed creatures ponder its light and warmth. "Good golden sun," a bee asks while alighting on a radiant, just-opened flower, "do you ever get cold?/ For the world gets chilly/ while you're off where you go." A small, anxious mouse queries, "Are you up there staying safe?/ Do you think about the scary things that sometimes lie in wait?" A brown-skinned child working on a farm asks more questions--"Can you bounce?/ Can you roll?/ Do you sleep?/ Do you dream?"--then sings to the sun as it dwindles. Spreads visualize a never-ending web, turning interacting entities golden-hued as they meet. Among them, a bear that eats the bee's honey on one page is stung by a mosquito that's then gobbled by a bird; the mouse, meanwhile, becomes a meal for a fox. The orb remains an enigma ("Every day's the same," a child says, "You stay silent as you pass"), but its effects on Earth's flora and fauna are slyly illuminated in this absorbing visual look at everything under the sun. Ages 4--8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 3--Wenzel presents a visually arresting tribute to the sun and its life-giving force to the planet and the creatures, big and small, who inhabit it. A honeybee greets the sun's first rays as she lands on the petals of a flower. The sun's energy is passed to the bee and from the bee to a honeycomb. Glowing, golden energy moves from animal to animal, then to plants, and culminates with a cat and a boy saying farewell to the "good golden sun" as it slips over the horizon and "pass[es] on all our questions to the moon." The journey of the energy through the cycle of life on Earth will fascinate readers, and the illustrations brim with action and honest information. In one spread a mouse is eaten by a coyote and the text asks, "Good golden sun, are you happy? Are you sad? Or do you stay up above the clouds where tears are never shed?" VERDICT From break of dawn to day's end, the journey of the sun as captured in lyrical text and stunning illustrations is a joy to behold. Highly recommended for all collections to encourage curiosity about life on Earth and the connections all living beings share.--John Scott