Claude and Sun

by Matt Novak

From morning till night, Claude and sun have a wonderful time together

Library Binding

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[Vanessa Olivares · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short easy picture book was about a man whose best friend was the sun. The man named Claude loved the sun because it helped the garden grow,played peek-a-boo with the flowers,danced across the pond. The sun helped him find treasures deep in the forest and a secret passage. The sun guided Claude home where they both said goodnight.

The plot in this story would be be grateful for the sun. Nature is something to be appreciated is the message I'm recieving. The story is very short with 1-5 words on each page. The pictures make up most of the pages. They have seemed to be drawn with pencil and filled in with neutrals paint colors. The author makes note that he is from Pennsylvania where nature offered all the activities. This book is an easy read and can be read to young children ages from ages I would say 3 to 5 years old.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear. It's pseudo-pointillism, not impressionism. And Monet didn't actually paint like this. And there are no educators' notes. Judged as just a story on it's own, sans expectations of educational merit, it's light and forgettable. LFL find that may appeal to someone else, but disappoints me.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty book of pictures that are painted in an Impressionist style and a character that is obviously based on Claude Monet. It's a fun story, with simple sentences on each page and beautiful illustrations.

[Jacqueline]

Love the pictures in this book!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple story great for young ones, but awesome illustration to introduce impressionist painting (Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat).

[Jayma DeLancey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern Fantasy
PreK-1st
This book is so cute!! I love the illustrations so much, it looks like mosaic tiles on the page! This is such a lighthearted children's book. It is not only about the sun, but its such a bright and sunny short story. As a reader I was transformed into what felt like summertime!

[Sean Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great for kids but for art lovers it seemed like a missed opportunity to reference a lot of Monet's other works. Or perhaps it would be better to have done a series of short episodic picture books???

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claude and the Sun are best friends, they rise together, help the garden grow (amongst other tasks), and both fall asleep at the same time.

While the story is very simple, I liked how it drew parallels between what Claude does and what the sun does, especially in the "snuggled under the covers" pages. The impressionistic artwork looks very nice, and I like how it looks different from what I see in most picture books.

I'll probably use this one in my weather preschool storytime.