Picture Books2020

Sun Flower Lion

Name: Sun Flower Lion
Author: Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes

A sun. A flower. And a lion. With three visual motifs, three colors, and fewer than 200 words, renowned Caldecott Medalist and #1 New York Times-bestseller Kevin Henkes cracks open the wide world and the youngest child’s endless imagination. This irresistible picture book is a must-have for every reader and every family.

On a warm morning, a little lion sleeps under a sun that shines so brightly, it looks like a flower. He dreams the flower is as big as the sun. He dreams the flower is a cookie. He lets his imagination soar.

Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes uses simple shapes, limited colors, and a pitch-perfect text to tell Lion’s story in this transcendent picture book. Sun Flower Lion introduces emerging readers to short chapters, action verbs, and adjectives, while bright illustrations transform simple shapes into something magical.

Sun Flower Lion will shine at story time and bedtime and for young children just learning how to read on their own.

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Purchases via HarperCollins · official publisher of Kevin Henkes’s books

What the critics said

praise from the pages of the reviews

“A sun, a flower, and a lion. . . . Henkes creates an impeccably designed story that’s rewarding for toddlers and early readers alike. . . . With imagination at its center, this participatory read-aloud also cleverly introduces the concept of simile and metaphor. . . . As brilliant as can be.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)”

“Masterfully employing brush and ink, with a striking color palette . . . Henkes creates a simple but thought-provoking story. Using panel illustrations, the book is divided into chapters, setting the pace of the narrative and helping the reader understand comparisons between items. . . . A perfect book for storytime reading or family bedtime sharing.”—Booklist (starred review)”

“Meet the sun . . . a flower that looks like a lion; and a lion, who sees the flower and dreams about a field of them. . . . A perfectly paced picture book . . . An endearing, seemingly simple story with a wide-eyed and memorable protagonist, whose adventures will delight preschoolers and support and encourage those taking first steps toward reading.”—The Horn Book(starred review)”

“A white circle with a scalloped yellow border—is it the sun? A flower? A lion? It’s all three. . . . A great pick for beginning readers. . . . With a return to a . . . limited color palette like that of Henkes’s award-winning Kitten’s First Full Moon, this is a must-have for all collections.” –School Library Journal (starred review)”