Clothilde Ewing

Determination, clever ideas, and a trusty friend at the side are all this girl needs to take on the sun and convince it to stay.

Stella loves to do all sorts of activities, and she's not a fan of bedtime, since she has to sleep all night with nothing to do. It seems a waste. The only way to end this nonsense is to stop the sun from setting. It's not an easy task, but Stella is ready to take on the challenge...and that without her parents knowing what she's up to.

Stella is so full of energy and excitement that it's hard not to smile. The joy of life beams from her. I was glad to see that this doesn't change the entire book through, either. When something doesn't seem to work out the way she hopes, there's no pouting or time for negative thoughts. She just jumps right into the next attempt. This positivity stays all the way to the end thanks to an interesting and sweet twist.

The illustrations are bright and let Stella's personality glow. The hippo on her side is super cute and adds to the fantasy and fun—a talking hippo in sunglasses is definitely a treat. Each spread carries the needed details to let Stella's world open up and switches seamlessly between the reality and fantasy.

While Stella is trying to keep the sun up to keep playing (which is something to think about), there's a long-distance friendship at play. This, unfortunately, is only mentioned very briefly in the beginning before hitting again at the end and might go over some young listeners' heads until explained. Still, this is such a cute read, and I do recommend it. I received an ARC and am giving it 4.5-stars while rounding up because I do love the joy in this one.… (altro)