I Touched the Sun
by Leah Hayes; illus. by the author
Primary    Enchanted Lion    64 pp.
6/23    9781592703906    $18.95

Hayes tells a tender, surreal story about a young child in awe of the sun’s warmth. Despite family members’ naysaying, the boy decides to fly up and visit the sun “by myself.” The sun greets him with a hug and invites him to appreciate her work. They see a busy beach and a flower she helped to bloom. She shows him a forest of trees “that took her years to grow” and a rainbow “that only lasted seconds.” The child shares his questions, dreams, and fears—in return, the sun offers a parting gift that makes him “feel brilliant with light.” The boy’s peculiar charcoal-gray world is brightened by the discerning use of color, particularly the vibrant yellow of the sun. Hayes’s understated and unfussy text provides a sense of reassurance that, though darkness and insecurity may appear in our lives, the light within us never truly disappears.

Pubissue-From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.