Introduction

I’m such a huge fan of gentle children’s books – there’s a lot of wonderful adventure out there, but there’s also something truly magical about a book like this one. When Sunlight Tiptoes, written by Gillian Sze and illustrated by Soyeon Kim, is a gorgeous poem that celebrates the rhythms of the morning as we follow a family on their errands. I received a copy of this one from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and spoiler alert: it’s going to be another good one. Let’s dive in to what makes it so good!

The Good Stuff

The Story

This is another instance of being very glad for the review copy. In case you haven’t seen this type of thing before, the first couple of pages of early release copies usually include information about plans for the book – this includes promotion plans, publishing information, publishing formats, etc. In this case, Orca Book Publishers also highlighted the specific poetry form used by Sze in the book, so I got to learn something new! When Sunlight Tiptoes uses a poetry form called pantoum. From the third page of the promotional copy:

The text is written in pantoum form (Malayan in origin). Similar to the villanelle, the pantoum is a closed form that is characterized by its quatrains, repetition and rhyme scheme.

p. 3 of review copy

I haven’t studied poetry in depth for a while, but this was enormously cool! The story overall flows beautifully and this Sze’s use of pantoum brings a lovely, lively energy to what normally might be a mundane series of tasks. The magical aspect of walking around together is gorgeously wrought. It seems as though Orca Books Publishers is mostly planning on publishing this as a board book, but I hope you pick it up even for kids who might be outside that normal age range. The language is so sweet and I think a lot of kids – especially those getting ready for independent reading or who might need encouragement on that front – will really enjoy this text. The specific vocabulary that Sze uses to build the prose is interesting without being inaccessible to children. The words are simple and the most complex ones are three syllables maximum, so they’re doubly great for beginning readers. If an adult guides the reading and points out where things repeat or rhyme, it’ll be an even better experience.

The Art

As good as Sze’s writing is here, Kim’s illustrations perfectly compliment and enhance it! The first thing to notice is that this family is mixed. Nothing in Sze’s text indicates that this was necessary to the story, which is awesome and makes me appreciate this detail even more. The characters that our family comes across over the story are racially diverse as well, which reflects many children’s communities these days. The only downside (because certain Twitter threads have made me more aware of this) is that there are no plus-size characters in the illustrations. This isn’t a deal-breaker or anything, but it is something I want to make folks aware of more frequently in book reviews.

In terms of illustration technique, I want to highlight another portion of the promotional copy’s explanation:

The meticulous illustration process for this book includes sketching and painting techniques to create three-dimensional dioramas that were then photographed.

p. 3 of review copy

This method of illustration is such a perfect compliment to the text. There’s a depth to each page that makes you look twice. The dimensionality of the illustrations adds a dreamlike quality that really enhances Sze’s magical text. Kim’s work is lively and has a natural movement that is joyful to look at over multiple readings. Additionally, if you’re planning on reading this with a little one you love, trying to recreate this style of illustration may also be a really fun bonding activity and a great way to illustrate your own family’s routines in a magical way.

In Summary

I know by now that you can tell I’m a soft touch for this kind of book, but in a world that tends to be harsh to kids, it’s important to cultivate senses of wonder even in every day activities. For that reason, this book is highly recommended.

When Sunlight Tiptoes is written by Gillian Sze and illustrated by Soyeon Kim. It’s published by Orca Book Publishers (which has a lot of other totally lovely board books!). You can find it on their website linked here. As always, gichi miigwech for reading!