I Touched the Sun

(Hardback)

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Description

A young boy goes on a journey to meet the Sun and discovers his inner light, in this wondrous picture book debut from the NYT-Bestselling graphic novelist of Not Funny Ha-Ha.
A Marginalian Favorite Book of 2023!
A boy befriends the sun in a story that will fill readers with the deep warmth emanating from its two lead characters. I wasnt prepared for this book and the affecting warmth of its wisdom.Cartoonist and illustratorR. Kikuo Johnson



"A beautiful exploration of the inner light in all of us." Cartoonist and animatorDash Shaw
His mother says it's too far away. His dad says it's too hot. And his brother says he has more important things to do. But none of this discourages a young boy from pursuing his plan: to fly up into the sky to touch the Sun, whose light always feels so nice on his skin. And so, off he goes, all by himself.
Warm and kindly, the Sun shows the boy the world from her perspective: her friends the clouds, the beaches upon which she shines down, the trees she's grown, the rainbows she creates. In return, the boy shares with her some of his dreams, fears, hopes, and uncertaintiescomplexities of the human condition that the Sun, as a cosmic force of constant light, has never experienced. In this way, the boy begins to understand somethingabout the pattern oflight and shadow that makes up every human life.
And when it's time to part ways, the boy returns home to his family changed, with an inner light that reminds him that the cosmic force of the sun is in him, too, always, though darkness falls, though he sleeps and dreams, though doubts and fears and gloominess come, too.

Reviews

A Marginalian Favorite Book of 2023! A tender parable about how to find and bear your inner light... Carrying the story is the quiet conversation between the black-and-white simplicity of Hayess pencil and the incandescent richness of her crayons, emanating the candor of a childs drawing and the refined subtlety of an artists lens on the world a world of contrasts in the act of being made on the page, like a young life still unwritten, yet to be colored in with living. -- Maria Popova * The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) *
Hayes tells a tender, surreal story about a young child in awe of the suns warmth... The boys peculiar charcoal-gray world is brightened by the deliberate use of color, particularly the vibrant yellow of the sun. Hayess 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. * The Horn Book *
In graphic novelist Hayes picture-book debut, a boy gains cosmic knowledge... Sun explains that her light 'comes from within'and that he has an inner light, too. Her touch and the warmth the boy feels lead to an epiphany'like a little sun inside'which Hayes depicts as an orange-yellow circle over his heart. It undulates outward in sun-hued rays, powering him back to his loving family. Spare gray line drawings use detail selectively: Hatching textures clouds and earth, and rendering delineates facial features. Humans skin is the white of the page, like nearly everything in the surrounding space. Crayonlike color is generally reserved for Sun and her selected achievements: plant life, the sunlit sea, a woven rug in sunset colors. Economically told and illustrated yet pulsing with the suns life-giving energy. * Kirkus Reviews *
This book is a warm hug. I think about this story and smile endlessly. -- Kevin * Books Are Magic (Brooklyn, NY) *

Author Bio

Leah Hayes is a graphic novelist, illustrator, and creator of the New York Times bestselling graphic novel Not Funny Ha-Ha. In addition to writing and illustrating several books, her editorial work appears often in the New Yorker, New York Times, and many other publications. Hayes is also a musician and leader of her band, Scary Mansion, and is a producer and songwriter for other pop and hip hop artists as well. She lives with her husband and two children on an island off the coast of Massachusetts.