Heart and Brain creator Nick Seluk navigates young readers through an entertaining tour of the Milky Way to explain why the Sun is kind of a big deal. Using accessible analogies, fun facts and whimsical illustrations, Seluk expertly engages his audience in the wonderment of the solar system. When explaining the concept of orbits, the text states, "The planets move around the Sun like a big racetrack in space.... Some planets are faster than others, but each one stays in its lane." Seluk's accompanying illustration depicts anthropomorphized planets circling a trainer-like Sun, stopwatch in hand, tweeting a whistle.
The dialogue bubbles hovering over the planets add to the book's charm, and keep the reader turning pages to see what comical quips come next. Some may float over the heads of the youngest readers, such as Mars's "Did someone lose a rover?" question, but adults joining their kids in this galactic adventure will certainly appreciate them. Other special discoveries in Seluk's homage to the Sun include "Oh Hey, Guess What?" callout boxes sprinkled throughout. These graphics beckon toward related factoids on topics such as galaxies, the equator and sunrises. He also incorporates a glossary of terms and historical information in appendixes to the book.
Covering heat, light, precipitation and photosynthesis, The Sun Is Kind of a Big Deal explains how "[t]he Sun works really hard to help us out" in terms (and pictures) budding astrologists, biologists and regular Earthly citizens can understand. Readers are sure to find this picture book thoroughly enjoyable and cosmically intriguing. --Jen Forbus, freelancer