There's a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today

by Sven Völker (Illustrator)

Overview

Sting’s evocative lyrics from "King of Pain" are powerfully transformed into minimalistic illustrations by Sven Völker, who gives voice to his son's journey from illness to health in this extraordinary and deeply moving collaboration that explores pain’s sadness, beauty, and wonder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842380
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	10/01/2015
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sven Völker is a graphic designer, artist, author,and professor who lives with his family in Berlin, Germany. When his son Malo was three years old, he was diagnosed with a serious illness. Malo has recovered, and Volker is working on his next picture boo

Editorial Reviews

08/03/2015
Inspired by the 1983 song “King of Pain” by The Police, artist and graphic designer Völker honors a difficult time in his young son’s life with this picture-book representation of the pain the boy suffered during a serious illness. The lyrics by composer, musician, and former Police front man Sting offer a litany of painful images from nature and folklore: “There’s a blue whale beached by a springtime’s ebb/ There’s a butterfly trapped in a spider’s web/ There’s a king on a throne with his eyes torn out/ There’s a blind man looking for a shadow of a doubt.” Völker pairs the words with scenes constructed of boldly contrasting geometric shapes, mostly triangles along with a few hexagons, trapezoids, and parallelograms (triangular drops of blood drip from the triangular hand of a disembodied person on an early page). Though the book’s overarching theme evokes sadness and anguish, readers will enjoy the puzzle-decoding elements in the artwork, and the book’s head-on approach to the reality of pain offers a jumping off point for discussions of feelings, both physical and emotional. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"The artwork abstractly and strikingly conveys emotion through color and geometric repetition."- Carol Connor, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
Gr 3 Up—Paper cut-outs illustrate the lyrics of the well-known song "The King of Pain," written by the musician Sting and recorded by his band, The Police. A prologue explains that the illustrator and his son, Malo, would often listen to the song as the son was fighting a painful illness. The lyrics captured the essence of Malo's pain—the loneliness of a hat caught in a treetop, the fear of a butterfly captured in a spider's web, and the finality of a broken-backed gull. The artwork abstractly and strikingly conveys emotion through color and geometric repetition. While its intent may be to instill empathy, some of the imagery may need the guidance and assurance of an adult to provide clarity to what some younger children may find upsetting. VERDICT A unique and thoughtful interpretation that is sure to spark discussion.—Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH

School Library Journal

2015-07-27
An artist's visual interpretation of Sting's song "King of Pain" was inspired by seeing his own son struggle through a difficult illness and find solace in its lyrics. "That's me / I am the king of pain" the boy, Malo, tells his father after hearing the song. Völker briefly recounts his son's story in a prologue and accompanies both it and the song lyrics with minimalist, geometric forms intended to evoke the pain, worry, and sadness of a parent and child grappling with the child's illness and painful treatment. Some comfort comes in naming the pain—"What does your pain feel like? Can you tell me?"—and the responses come in Sting's lyrics with their own images of "a butterfly / trapped in a spider's web" and "a skeleton / choking on a crust of bread" and, of course, "a little black spot / on the sun today." The conclusion showing "the king of pain" looks like a joyful picture—does this mean that pain is conquered? Or that the king of pain is more powerful than the individual moments of suffering? It's a bit hard to determine. The very personal story doesn't quite end up supporting a visual narrative through combination of lyrics and art. Heartfelt but so oblique it's unlikely to connect with many readers. (Picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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