Under the Sun

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Kandoian offers an eloquent answer to a child's oft-asked question, ``Where does the sun go when I go to bed?'' She traces the sun's journey from Molly's bedroom window to the Mississippi River where a boy watches it from a houseboat, to Japan where a girl watches it from her garden, to the Mongolian Desert where a camel watches it set behind the dunes, to a town in Russia where a little boy may be wondering, ``Where does the sun go when I go to bed?'' and all the way back to Molly's other bedroom window, where it will nudge her awake. Soft watercolors handsomely transport readers along the sun's path. A postscript describes the scientific explanation for the sun's behavior and suggests an experiment that readers can try. Ages 4-8. (October)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3 A little girl asks her mother ``Where does the sun go when I go to bed?'' Mother's response is a series of places moving west around the world, each time with a child or animal in that place watching the sun set: a boy on a houseboat on the Mississippi, children in Hawaii, a panda in China, a camel in the desert, and finally a boy in Russia wondering where the sun goes when he sleeps. Then while he is wondering and the other eight locations are sleeping, the sun returns to the little girl's room to wake her up. Soft watercolors accompany the brief text, setting a quiet mood similar to the sunsets shown in the various locations. Short and pleasant, this will appeal to children who ask the question about the sun and to parents looking for a short but satisfying answer. Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, N.Y.