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The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer

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The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer

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Overview

On a peculiarly long night, three farm animals set off on a daring quest to bring the sunrise.

Fans of Erin and Philip C. Stead’s books will instantly love this quirky barnyard trio’s magical quest to bring the sunrise, in the style of their previous animal books A Sick Day for Amos McGee and Bear Has a Story to Tell.

A mule,
A milk cow,
A miniature horse,
Standing in a barn door,
Waiting for the sun to rise.

As this trio rests in their comfortable barn, a realization slowly dawns on them. . . the sun is late to rise.

After consulting barn owl (who always knows what to do), they take Rooster and set off on an epic journey further than they’ve ever gone before; through the acre of tall corn, past the sleeping giant, all the way to the edge of the world.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823444281
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	11/29/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,069,363
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Erin and Philip C. Stead are an award-winning picture book team. Their book A Sick Day for Amos McGee (400,000 plus copies sold to date) won the Caldecott Medal and was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and a Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Book. Other popular books include Music for Mister Moon, Bear Has a Story to Tell, an E. B White Award Honor Book. Most recently they collaborated with Mark Twain on The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, a major New York Times Bestseller and the recipient of much major media attention including profiles on CBS Sunday Morning and The New Yorker. They live in Michigan.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022
“There is a silence inside of everything.” The almost prayerful early lines of this reverent episodic narrative by the married collaborators (The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine) confer unexpected dignity on its protagonists: a mule, a milk cow, and a miniature horse, all worrying together under a starry night sky. Noting that “the sun is late... And so is the farmer,” they reason that the farmer is unlikely to appear with breakfast if the sun doesn’t rise. Erin Stead conveys their anxious expressions with unfailing sweetness against inky blue backgrounds. When they approach the farm’s barn owl, it sends them on a quest “beyond the field full of sheep... all the way to the edge of the world.... Bring Rooster along—Rooster will know what to do.” The three animals strike out: “We will have to be braver than we ever thought possible,” writes Philip Stead. As the sky lightens, though, readers realize that the journey may not be as challenging—or necessary—as the animals had feared, building to a happy if precipitous ending. It’s a gently comic telling that appreciates creatures’ gentle ways and offers a quiet reminder about perceptions’ ability to mislead. Ages 4–8. Agent (for author and illustrator): Emily van Beek, Folio Literary. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "The Steads have created an environment as whimsical and kind as the one that nurtured Amos McGee. . . . A gentle array of soft colors and sweet animal faces quickly engages readers. Onomatopoeia, descriptive phrases, and repetition make this a very endearing reading experience for all. . . . This meets all the expectations one has of this duo."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "Beautifully illustrated. . . . An endearing new folktale from the Caldecott-winning duo."—Booklist, Starred Review

★ "Waste no time in adding this gem to the storytime shelf."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"The gentle text . . . leaves space for child listeners to ponder their own dreamscapes. The illustrations . . . contribute moments of subtle humor. . . ."—The Horn Book

"The lulling cadence and gentle, folkloric tone make this an easy pick for bedtime, and Erin Stead’s familiar art style underscores that feel with soft dapples, slim linework, and muted tones."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A gently comic telling that appreciates creatures’ gentle ways and offers a quiet reminder about perceptions’ ability to mislead."—Publishers Weekly

"Kid lit has picked up another memorable animal trio with The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer . . . . Readers of this disarming and dear picture book will relish being miles ahead of the trio at its center: barnyard animals who are convinced that the sun is worrisomely overdue for its entrance."—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2022
PreS-Gr 2—The Steads have created an environment as whimsical and kind as the one that nurtured Amos McGee. This one takes readers to a quiet farm where three animals, "a mule, a milk cow, a miniature horse," are looking expectantly at the darkened early morning sky, waiting for the sun to rise. When it fails to come up, the animals take action, for the farmer has also failed to rise and breakfast will therefore be late. A journey ensues, wise animals are consulted, giants are faced, and eventually the trio arrive at the edge of the world, where the sun makes its belated appearance, as does the farmer who leads the animals back to the barn, where breakfast is waiting. A gentle array of soft colors and sweet animal faces quickly engages readers. Onomatopoeia, descriptive phrases, and repetition make this a very endearing reading experience for all. If the animals from the farm ever get a chance to meet the animals from Amos McGee's zoo, they would find boon companions and fast friends. VERDICT This meets all the expectations one has of this duo. Recommended for libraries looking for titles with sophisticated, age-appropriate art and language.—John Scott

School Library Journal

★ 2022-07-13
Animal friends pull together in another collaboration from the Steads.
A disruption in routine prompts a worried group of animals to work together, just as the zoo animals rallied together when Amos McGee fell ill in the Steads’ first joint picture book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2010). As in that Caldecott-winning title, Philip Stead’s artful text employs repetition and just-right word choices to result in a pleasing aurality. A mule, a milk cow, and a miniature horse wonder why the farmer hasn’t arisen yet and then decide to venture forth to awaken her. Leaving the barn is daunting; as Milk Cow says, “We will have to find courage.” Erin Stead’s illustration style closely resembles that which she employed in Sick Day, though the palette here is attuned to the darkness of pre-dawn hours, ultimately giving way to the warmth of the sunrise. Before that happy ending, a whimsical reference to a “sleeping giant” is accompanied by a picture of enormous stocking feet, toes pointing to the sky, which offers a visual echo of Amos’ feet poking out of his bedclothes as he sleeps. And yet, this is a farm setting, not a zoo, and the light-skinned farmer is a woman, not a man. The plot is also slightly more complex, with dream references that may prompt discussion about what happens in the reality of the story world and what is all a dream. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Waste no time in adding this gem to the storytime shelf. (Picture book. 2-7)

Kirkus Reviews

The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer

The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer

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