Sleepy Sun By Mari Hanson

(Disclosure: We were provided with this free product by Mari Hanson.)

Mel's Thoughts:

We recently had the opportunity to review Mari Hanson's book, Sleepy Sun. 

Mari was gracious to let us in on this opportunity.

I read this book to my boys last night....it's a very short, sweet, simple story.  Basically, Mari has taken the sun and made it into the main character of the story.  The story winds through all the things that the sun might see in a days' time, from the desert to the mountains to your own backyard, showing how many places the sun has visited or shined upon for that day.  The story tries to carry the imagination to places, both far and near.

At the end of the story, the sun is very sleepy, which helps the story wind down, as a bedtime story really should do.  The language of the book gives it an imaginative, child-like feel, and the illustrations are just beautiful.  Kathleen M. Hanson is the illustrator, and the pictures have almost an Impressionistic feel to them.  They are very colorful and imaginative, making them very pleasing to my own and my children's eyes. 

Whether you read the story to your children at bedtime, or you simply look through the pictures in the book together(which sometimes works better for me with Jaden, seeing as he's a very busy toddler), this is such an adorable story to have on the shelf.  It's thin and easy to handle when you have multiple children hanging on you to listen to the story.:)   It is priced at $14.99 on Amazon.  You can also read more about it on Mari Hanson's site.

Melissa J's Thoughts:

As soon as we took Mari Hanson's best seller, Sleepy Sun, out of the package, my 23 month old daughter was putting it in my face saying, "ead Mama. ead!"  She was immediately attracted to the bright pictures and just as quickly became engrossed in the rhythmic feel of the reading. 

The pictures are bright and captivating. The colors are brilliant and vivid, which is part of what makes this book so intriguing for all ages. 

I thought the concept of the book was charming. It was about a day in the life of the sun. . . . where the sun shone, who the sun warmed, and why the sun is ready for bed. It's a perfect, end-of-the-day story and has quickly become a bedtime classic in our house!

My only down note on the books, is the price. While the book is delightful and captivating, I'm not sure I would spend that much on the book for younger children, simply because they have the potential to destroy books quickly. $14.99 means nothing to toddler hands.  

That being said, the book is appealing, not only to toddlers, but also to older children (my daycare kids enjoyed it as well) and for that age group, it is worth the price. 

Thank you Mari, for the chance to review your book!

 

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