Sun flight

by Gerald McDermott

Daedalus fashions wings for the escape of himself and his son Icarus from the Labyrinth of King Monos of Crete, but Icarus fails to heed his father's warnings about their use.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Gerald McDermott is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and an expert on mythology. His work often combines bright colors and styles with ancient imagery.

He has created more than 25 books and animated films. His first book, Anansi the Spider, was awarded a Caldecott Honor, and he’s since won the Caldecott Medal for Arrow to the Sun and another Caldecott Honor.

Reviews

[Rachel Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork. Would buy for that alone.

[Jourdan Aanenson]

This Native American tale is about a man who goes to the king to get the release of his son.

The pictures in this story are great. The colors of this book emphasize the pictures very well. They can capture the audience's of young children very well. The story line of this book is close to Native American cultures and this is great to show different cultures into children's books because it shows differences in all people yet shows their similarities. The buildings of the houses in this short story are shapes, half circles, rectangles, squares etc. These shapes help children learn colors and shapes better because they are in the book they are reading.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not a fan of the art style at all, unfortunately. The writing was fine, but there were some differences in this story from the myth, such as Daedalus and Icarus being put in the labyrinth instead of a tower. It ended abruptly and unsatisfactorily.