New from Kevin Henkes

Five stars for "Sun Flower Lion," the first book my son actually seems to respond to.

This is a deceptively simple tale. The narrator observes the sun, "bright as a flower." His gaze travels downward to actual flowers--which, with their yellow "petal-manes," seem to resemble tiny lions.

By chance, a lion strolls by. He sniffs the lovely flower. He warms himself in the sun.

All that heat leads to a nap--and, during the nap, the lion dreams he is surrounded by flowers, large as the sun. By the magic of dream-logic, the flowers become "cookies"--and the lion eats them all.

Startled, newly awake, the lion realizes how hungry he is. He runs home to feast with his family.

I love this because it's a subtle exploration of cause-and-effect. Running up the hill--mixed with the warmth of the sun--causes the lion to get sleepy. In his dream, he has dessert; his subconscious tells him he is starting to get hungry. Thus, awake again, the lion runs home for a treat.

Other writers would have a straightforward paragraph about the protagonist's "ordinary world"--but, in Henkes's playful hands, the ordinary world becomes a kind of poem. The scene is set via metaphor. Sun, "bright as a flower"; flower, "resembling a lion"; lion, enjoying the day.

Henkes! I don't know how he does it....

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