PPBF /Singing to the Sun

Hi Friends! This Perfect Picture Book Friday is going to be another quick and short review. But Perfect for  Picture Book Friday. No dilly dallying around so grab your cuppa and enjoy. 

Title: Singing to the Sun – a Fairy Tale

Author/ Illustrator: Vivian French / Jackie Morris

Publishing info/ Kane Miller Book Publishers, Inc, 2001 and 2008

What the Jacket says: Thornfinn’s father is obsessed with power while his mother cares only for wealth. When it is time to choose a bride, Thornfinn decides he must listen to his own heart instead. He seeks the wisdom and experience of his friends, the court jester and the old tabby cat. In which direction will they lead him? Will he choose the princess who promises him wealth, the princess who promises him power, or the princess who is full of love and happiness? And, just as important, will that princess choose Thornfinn in return?

A brand new fairy tale, for a brand new generation.

First Three Sentences: “Once there was a lord who did not believe in love. He married a lady who believed only in gold, and at the end of a year they had a son. “One day,” said the lord, “this child will be the most powerful man in all the land. “

Themes: Fairytale, adventure, humor

Resources:  Reading begins earlier than opening up to page one and letting your eyes scan the page. Asking questions like what does the cover suggest the book is about? What do you think the title says the book is about? And also the illustrations? What do they say about the book?

This site is very good for parents to ask the right questions to foster a love for reading.

Why I love it: It’s a brand new fairy tale for a brand new generation! With Spoiler alerts, Thornfinn doesn’t get married at all, because the princess doesn’t choose him. But she marries for love, and love is the most important thing in any generation. Love is all important even in Snow Whites and Cinderella’s day.  Although then there had to be magic for love to happen and be allowed. There’s a cool little twist to this fairy tale and I am not spoiling it to tell you that. Read it and find out.  🙂

As Laura Renault says in her PPBF posts:

“Craving more Perfect Picture Books? Author Susanna Leonard Hill compiles weekly book reviews from bloggers at www.susannahill.blogspot.com. Visit Fridays or click the Perfect Picture Books tab at her website for a subject listing.”

My gifts for my writer friends: 

Wonderful post on Adventures in YA Publishing by Sandra Neil Wallace can be found by clicking HERE to learn more about Turning History into Fiction.  

Setting is so important and this post will tell you exactly how important. ClickHERE. 

© 2013  Clara Bowman-Jahn/ Clarike Bowman-Jahn

See you next Tuesday! I’m having Sylvia Liu here for her famous interview on how she won the New Voices Award at Lee and Low books.

XXxOOOo