Stella Keeps the Sun Up

Stella, a small Black girl who is joyful and industrious every day, blames buzzkill bedtime on the sun. To keep the sun awake so she can continue to play, she shines a flashlight up into the sky and makes a lot of noise. She does her morning yoga routine at night to confuse the sun about the time; to keep the sun busy, she invites it to an evening party. To fool the sun into thinking it's still morning, breakfast cereal is eaten for supper and coffee is delivered up to the sky using a trampoline and a very long straw. Rocky, Stella's stuffed hippo, acts as a stand-in for her best friend Kamrynn who recently moved to the opposite side of the world. With the knowledge that Kamrynn needs the daily cycle of sunshine or she'll be "stuck in bed for a hundred years," Stella allows herself to be tucked in. VERDICT This bedtime story would be useful for reluctant sleepers or to introduce children to the concept of time zones.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake P. L., Alta.

In an inventive ploy to avoid another "boring" night sleeping, a child named Stella and her blue stuffed hippo, Roger, endeavor to keep the sun up. Donning "supersize sunglasses" and "plenty of sunscreen," the Black protagonist tries multiple tactics on the day star, including confusion (doing extra-long morning yoga so the sun doesn't know the time, eating cereal midday) and stimulation (banging on a drum, shining flashlights, attempting to deliver coffee), all while the sun looks on in Gaines's airbrush-style digital scenes. As the day closes, the young narrator despairs until realizing that if the sun doesn't set, then Stella's long-distance best friend, portrayed with pale skin and black hair, won't be able to rise on the other side of the world--an epiphany that provides a well-timed reason to embrace nighttime rituals, and adult readers with a fresh reason for arguing in favor of a good night's rest. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)