Are they illustrations or oil paintings? Henri Sorensen contributed some breathtaking new artwork for the children's book "Sun Up." But this story about a farm at sunrise has its own secret history. Alvin Tresselt was just 33 when he first published "Sun Up" in 1949. 42 years later - at the age of 75 - his book was re-released, this time with Sorensen's fine art illustrations.
"Bit by bit the sun inched up above the edge of the land, and the purple night shadows slipped away..." The text of "Sun Up" is about as naturalistic as it's possible to be, describing, moment by moment, the sun rising over a farm. There's a field mouse scurrying, a crowing rooster, and dewdrops on a spider's web. Soon the sun is peeking in a little boys window, telling him that it's time to wake up.
The mists disappear and the sunflowers face the sun as it rises in the sky, heating up the day. "Today will be a scorcher," the farmer says to his helper. The farmers chores appear through the book, but it's only a counterpoint to the day's progress. Soon Tresselt has switched to a boy and his dog in the field, who also feels the sun on his back in the meadow.
With a story this simple, you need compelling illustrations to keep readers interested. The sun grows so hot that the animals scramble for shade, and Sorensen finds appropriate poses for each of them. Cows rest lazily under a broad sycamore tree, flicking flies with their tails. The chickens gather in the shadow of the barn, and scratch up dust for their feathers to try to keep cool. Even the boy seeks the shadow woods by the fishing hole - but he's thwarted because the fish are also seeking coolness in the dark waters at the bottom of the pond.
If there's a message to this story, it's that the farmer keeps working no matter how hot things get. Sorensen draws a great picture of their hay baler crossing the field, with the red vehicle under a blue sky crossing wide fields of yellow. Tresselt adds the sound of the hay baler - "gunka ka CHUNG, gunka ka CHUNG" - and describes the hay bales as smelling sweet. But they still feel the heat, and the book's climax will be the arrival of a sudden rainstorm.
It's surprising how effective this story is. Each casual mention of the growing discomfort builds the tension around the heat, and when the rainstorm finally appears, it's a welcome relief. "Angry black clouds boiled up to hide the sun," Tresselt writes. The trees toss their leaves in the wind, and the farmer runs for shelter in the barn. Now there's thunder and raindrops, as all the animals crowd into the barn. The book ends with a beautiful drawing of pink clouds in a deep blue sunset, "hung with the new moon, with a single bright star sparkling..." A new night has come - and the rooster waits for the next morning.