The hummingbirds and butterflies add a bit of whimsy to Anna’s cover portrait. Her whole family comes to find her, and they all witness a grand sight: Anna running with her full can on her head and not spilling a single drop! James, of Antiguan background, allows her bold acrylic paintings in tropical colors to sprawl across wide double-page spreads of lush Caribbean landscapes. One day, when she is trailing way behind the others, Anna just starts running away from her bovine enemies (very peaceful creatures, as depicted in the illustrations). Why, Karen can even read while she carries a water container on her head, a detail noted in the exuberant paintings accompanying the simple text, ideal for reading aloud. She doesn’t yet have this skill that all her siblings have mastered. The digital, cartoonlike illustrations are bright, colorful, and cheerful but don’t make up for the shaky plotting.Īn interesting premise but the execution is underwhelming.Īnna, the youngest in a large family, desperately wants to carry her coffee can of water on her head. Also, at the beginning of the story, Stella seems enamored of the moon-she wishes she could jump high enough to kiss it-yet she and Roger spend the bulk of the book trying to prevent nightfall this discrepancy may give some readers pause. Despite the book’s sweet touches, the narrative is weakened by some meandering irrelevancies that make the plot feel disconnected. Eventually, the pair quit when they realize that if the sun never sets for them, morning can never come for Kamrynn, who wakes up when they go to bed.

Neither Stella nor Roger like sleeping: “Why do we have to miss all the fun and go to bed just because it gets dark?” Deciding that “if it never gets dark, then we can stay awake forever,” the duo work tirelessly to “keep the sun awake.” They play loud music, shine flashlights at the sun, and even make various attempts to launch a cup of coffee up to the celestial orb in hopes that caffeine will keep it alert. Imaginative Stella, a young Black girl with Afro puffs, misses her friend Kamrynn, a light-skinned, straight-haired girl who has moved to “the other side of the world.” Luckily, Stella still has her best pal Roger, a blue hippo stuffie. Stella hates going to bed, so she and her best buddy attempt to prevent the sun from setting.

Stella keeps the sun up