Sweep Up the Sun

by Helen Frost, Rick Lieder (Illustrator)

Overview

Illuminated by exquisite photographs of eleven species of birds, a spareand elegantpoem inspires readers to open their wings and soar.

Baby robins, open-beaked in their nest. Mallards winging to a new clime. Whether chickadees or cardinals, sparrows or starlings, here are commonly seen birds in their natural settings, captured in photographs of rare beauty and grace. In perfect synchrony, a lyrical narrative evokes images of play and flight, perseverance and trust.At the end, readers will find profiles of the featured species. This stunning book is an ideal gift for bird lovers of all ages, graduates, or anyone embarking on an adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763669041
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/23/2015
Series:	Step Gently, Look Closely
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Helen Frost is the author of Step Gently Out, also with photographs by Rick Lieder, as well as Monarch and Milkweed and several novels-in-poems for children and young adults. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Rick Lieder is the illustrator of Helen Frost’s Step Gently Out as well as a nature photographer, artist, and book-jacket designer. He lives in Michigan.

Editorial Reviews

…a picture book that brings to children the aesthetic possibilities of photography as it celebrates the miracle of flight and the virtues of common birds. Lieder ventures up close to some elusive creatures in a way that will be heart-stopping for any young—or older—naturalist, but his intent is clearly to be beautiful in an unabashedly artistic way. These photographs are as gorgeous as paintings…Frost's words…aim for everyday uplift. They are written in a kind of exhortational free verse, encouraging the reader or listener to emulate the courage and drive of any bird learning to fly, then mastering the sky.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 02/02/2015
Frost and Lieder follow Step Gently Out with another winning combination of sensitive verse and striking photography, this time taking an inspirational approach that makes the book equally well-suited for graduation gift-giving and moments of everyday encouragement. “Spread your feathers,/ sweep up the sun,/ ride the wind and explore,” writes Frost as a cardinal is shown in midflight, its wings remarkably translucent against a wintry background. Detailed information about the 11 pictured birds adds heft and context to a book that will have readers marveling at these easily overlooked finches, jays, and sparrows while taking heart in its message of one’s ability to thrive and even soar in a big, wide world. Ages 2–5. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Lieder's breathtaking photography carries the book's message of growth. Frost's poem encourages youngsters to leave the nest, "trusting" the sky to "hold you / as you learn to fly." ... All-around gorgeous; Frost and Lieder again showcase the splendor of nature through the happy marriage of literal and figurative images.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Frost and Lieder follow Step Gently Out with another winning combination of sensitive verse and striking photography, this time taking an inspirational approach that makes the book equally well-suited for graduation gift-giving and moments of everyday encouragement.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

With a gentle text and dramatic visuals, this book has much to offer beginning birders, science classes, and storytimes for very young listeners.
—School Library Journal

For bird lovers of all ages, this small book offers a glimpse of feathered friends not otherwise often seen so close-up.
—Booklist

A superb intersection of science, literature, and visual arts, this book can be used to initiate studies of flight, enthuse bird watchers, or inspire creative classroom projects.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

02/01/2015
PreS-Gr 1—Following on the heels of Step Gently Out (Candlewick, 2012), which combines verse and photography to bring readers into the wonders of the insect world, this new title takes readers into the sky to fly with the birds. "Rise into the air/on the strength of your wings--/go out to play in the sky,/trusting it to hold you/as you learn to fly." One motivational poem stretches easily throughout the book while the photographs work with it to capture impossible split seconds of flight and rest through a variety of conditions. ("You may find yourself/shaking off raindrops/or caught in a blizzard at night /You'll pause for a quick conversation,/meet wingtip-to-wingtip/in flight.") Each page showcases a different type of bird including goldfinches, starlings, ducks, and woodpeckers, and the back matter uses the photographs to connect readers to the birds' names and basic information. The sharply focused birds stand out against blurred backgrounds, creating a stark contrast that invites close and repeated observation. VERDICT With a gentle text and dramatic visuals, this book has much to offer beginning birders, science classes, and storytimes for very young listeners.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

★ 2014-11-11
A picture-book poem calling for adventure that's—thankfully—for the birds.When poet Frost and photographer Lieder last teamed up (Step Gently Out, 2012), their lyric gaze focused on the insect world, magnifying the beauty of wee, crawly creatures to wide critical acclaim. Their latest endeavor, again but one poem set amid riveting close-ups, takes to the air, capturing many common species of North American birds—mostly in flight—and reprising Frost's theme encouraging children to step outside and explore the natural world. From the urgent dependency captured on the front endpapers in the form of baby robins, beaks gaping wide, to the independence of adult birds midflight, arrested in such detail that an attentive child can count the feathers of a downy woodpecker's wing or study the masked face of a male cardinal, Lieder's breathtaking photography carries the book's message of growth. Frost's poem encourages youngsters to leave the nest, "trusting" the sky to "hold you / as you learn to fly." It not only quietly promotes thoughtful risk-taking, but neatly and unwittingly encapsulates the ambitious creative project she and Lieder have embarked on: "Alone in the sky, // or flying with friends, / your wings will carry you far, // stitching earth to sky with invisible thread, // at home wherever you are." All-around gorgeous; Frost and Lieder again showcase the splendor of nature through the happy marriage of literal and figurative images. (Picture book/poetry. 2-8)

Kirkus Reviews