Sun

Another of Sam Ushers brilliantly illustrated stories following his series of books based on the weather. This is the third in the series and having read 'Snow' and 'Rain' before, I looked forward to revisiting Grandad and the boy and seeing what adventures they got up to this time. This story starts like the previous two. A young boy wakes up to find it is sunny, very sunny; the hottest day of the year! And on this day the boy and his grandfather decide to go on an adventure. They pack provisions and set off to find the perfect picnic spot. The illustrations are vibrant and enticing and ooze heat in their yellows and oranges. Grandad and the boy stop and start on their journey looking for the best spot, 'a shady spot, somewhere with a cool breeze' - until eventually they find the perfect picnic place but somebody has got there first! The watercolour images are brilliant and set the scene perfectly. The colour gets progressively darker as the story goes on and this could be explored with the children. This text could be used as a stimulus for art work, how different colours make us feel and different shades of colours. Children could produce their own weather paintings in the style of Sam Usher. This text could be a good resource to support geography work using maps/plans. Looking at the school grounds or local area, I would ask children to imagine we were going on adventure like the boys and if we had to find a shady spot/ a picturesque spot etc, where would we go? Children could plot these on maps and plans. This story has a repetitive pattern lots of children will enjoy joining in with; an NC KS1 target to be able to join in with predictable phrases. Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by Nikki Stiles, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 5+