A Song of Sun and Sky

by Jason Cockcroft

Overview

A seemingly endless road trip for Lula and her father only seems to get worse when the car breaks down in the middle of the desert. Things are too boring and too orange until Lula encounters a mysterious painter who shows her that the desert is full of so much more to explore.


This is an exploration of color, lighting, and the magic of art and nature, filtered through the lens of a fictional interaction with the artist Georgia O'Keeffe. Learn about the colors you bring along everywhere you go.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250819437
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	751,230
Product dimensions:	11.35(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jason Cockcroft is an author and illustrator currently residing in the UK. He’s contributed as an author or illustrator, and sometimes both, to over forty books in his lifetime. An alumnus of the Falmouth School of Art and the first-ever recipient of the Blue Peter Books Award, Jason’s creative talent shines bright in each and every project he works on.

Editorial Reviews

07/17/2023

In this color-oriented picture book, Cockcroft imagines a fictional conversation between the painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) and Lula, a child whose father’s station wagon breaks down in front of O’Keeffe’s home. When the artist carries an unfinished painting outside to work, Lula asks, “But why do you use so many colors? The desert is just orange.” The painter responds in queries that make Lula consider variations (“What color is a brown dog at sunset?”), then begin to perceive them. “There are the colors of every bird that flew through here.... Of every family,” the woman says. Warm, digitized pencil and watercolor spreads that consider the landscape show ghostly forms of animals and humans in the sky above. Exploring the ways artists perceive and use color, Cockcroft also captures a moment when a child connects with an adult who takes them seriously. When Lula and her dad, both portrayed with brown skin, return to the car, everything the child sees is new: “Even her father looked different.” A detailed biography of O’Keeffe concludes. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2023-02-08
A fictional conversation about color between a child and artist Georgia O’Keeffe.

Lula looks moody as her father pulls their car over in the middle of the desert. The girl describes her world in terms of color; at first all she sees is orange. Then she notes the gray smoke pouring from the engine and her father’s red face. The duo approach an adobe house for some water. The animal skulls on the wall, the paintbrushes in the jars, and the desert setting will evoke the famous 20th-century painter to those in the know, but to the child, the aged woman (unidentified until the backmatter) merely seems a good host. But after O’Keeffe sets up a canvas in the garden, a dialogue ensues. The bored child wonders why the woman uses so many colors (“The desert is just orange”), but the painter asks, “What color is a brown dog at sunset?” This gives Lula pause. While at times the protagonist’s thoughts sound more complex than a youngster’s capabilities, the narrative is nonetheless provocative, as when the artist mentions imprinting your color on a place and taking its hues with you. Watercolor washes, pencil sketches, and digital manipulation build the scenes, inviting readers to look closely at these wondrous landscapes. Cockcroft’s palette becomes more nuanced as the two converse, allowing readers to easily absorb Lula’s changing perceptions. Lula and her father are Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fresh entree to an artist and her impact. (biographical note, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews