The Sun Is So Quiet

by Nikki Giovanni, Ashley Bryan (Illustrator)

Excellent Book

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, African American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1996

About the author

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends". Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the "Poet of the Black Revolution". During the 1970s, she began writing children's literature, and co-founded a publishing company, NikTom Ltd, to provide an outlet for other African-American women writers. Over subsequent decades, her works discussed social issues, human relationships, and hip hop. Poems such as "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" have been frequently re-published in anthologies and other collections.
Giovanni received numerous awards and holds 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. Giovanni was honored with the NAACP Image Award seven times. One of her more unique honors was having a South America bat species, Micronycteris giovanniae, named after her in 2007.
Giovanni was proud of her Appalachian roots and worked to change the way the world views Appalachians and Affrilachians.
Giovanni taught at Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State, and was a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech until September 1, 2022. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she delivered a chant-poem at a memorial for the shooting victims.

Reviews

[jada alexis]

these illustrations are devastatingly gorgeous. i can't. and nikki giovanni, i love you.

[Maggie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Sun is SO Quiet, I looked the the inside contents and it gives a view of what the pages will be focused on. Within the book, the illustrations are so colorful and provide little hints of other boos Nikki Giovanni wrote. The poems on each page will correlate with the main title on the top of the page. For example, on page 8, the main theme is covers. It discusses how the windows cover the house to keep the cold out, and blankets cover humans when they are ready to fall asleep. These illustrations are so bright with warm and cool colors, It provides a good contrast of colors. The illustrations also correlate with the title at the top. For example, if it is in colder months, they will have people dressed in snow gear or draw snow flakes. It also talks about how snow flakes are unique just like how every human being is different in their own unique way. As an activity, I will have the students make cut out designs from paper. They can make snowflakes, flowers, or people holding hands.

[Allyssa Dotson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sun is so Quiet is told in a rhythmic verse that will keep the reader turning the pages to a beat. I think these musical style books are really important for a holistic education approach and will definitely help students understand a rhythm. Once your students really appreciate the story being told they can begin to understand and interpret the artists rendition of the story and how they go together. Nikki Giovanni writes the story while Ashley Bryan takes in his unique artistic approach and layers the different images together to make one harmonious tale. These stories are so important to be in the classroom because they represent African culture and heritage, something that usually only gets touched base on for one month out of the year. The Sun is so Quiet is a great example of a book that could and should be read year round to students.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this colorfully illustrated collection of rhymes, Giovanni introduces children to poetry by describing the magic of nature, noticing moments of ordinary life, and savoring the peppermint dreams of the imagination. Simple illustrations create a playful visual context for each poem.

“If I could climb
the mountains
And rest on clouds
that float
I’d swim across
the clear blue air
To reach my rainbow boat.

My rainbow boat
is oh so big
And I could be
so tall
As I sit
in my captain’s chair
The master of it all.”
—“Rainbows,” p. 18

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

We finished this book, but it just is not the style poetry that my kids and I typically read together. We like poems about animals and silly rhymes. Individually, many of the poems were nice. However, this compilation jumped from winter to Chocolate and I couldn't figure out the purpose to help my kids make sense of it. The pictures were colorful so that helped keep their attention, but overall this was not our favorite book.

[محمد الزهراني · Rating 5 out of 5]

"هادئون.. كصوتِ سحابةٍ تمرُّ بالجوار
أو فراشةٍ ترفرفُ بجناحيها،
لا ضوضاء لنا ..
نقْتسم فطيرة خُبز ساخنة ..
هادئون مثل سماءٍ زرقاء في يومٍ صيفيَّ.
لا مطرٌ قادمٌ
لا نقلق مِنْ الجفاف

نهربُ من الحشرات
ونمشي على العشب .. حفاةٌ .
هادئون مثل غِطاء على سرير مِنْ الريش ،
مثل صقيعٍ نائمٍ على نافذة
نبتسمُ للشَّمس الهادئة ..
نكتبُ أسماءَنا على النوافذ
ونعرف أنَّ الشَّمس تُذيبها "


-----
من كتاب : الشَّمس هادئة جداً.
نيكي جيوفاني - شاعرة أمريكيَّة.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up to see Ashley Bryan’s work. The poems didn’t resonate with me as much as the other book he illustrated that I just read, my favorite was “Rainbows”.

The art though, I loved! I really enjoyed the painting style more than the cut paper style in Sail Away, beautiful, vibrant, happy images.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sun Is So Quiet (Hardcover)
by Nikki Giovanni
Welcome browse join in to the poetry collection that will show children who would like to connect to culture and nature. It is a brief collection.

[Ginger B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book to my granddaughter.

[G.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book to my granddaughter.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - This poetry collection was not to my personal liking but it was filled with clever little poems

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashley Bryan does a phenomenal job illustrating this cute collection by Nikki Giovanni.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars
This is a delightful series of poems about nature for children.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much when I read a short time ago, I bought two copies--one for myself and one for a young person in my family. Reading it again was like reading it for the first time. I found so many new treasures.


January 4, 2021: What a DELIGHTFUL book! The poems are fun and the illustrations by Ashley Bryan are great.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for 5420 class

At the beginning, the poems are structured (correct capitalization and spacing conventions followed) and are quite literal and tangible. As the poems become less structured and follow fewer (if any) syntactical conventions, the content of the poems become more metaphorical and intangible. The illustrations reflect this change. At the beginning, Bryan’s illustrations are structured and solid, like the grandmother reading to her grandson with the quilt hanging behind them as Giovanni explains the process for preparing for winter. But, as the storybook progresses, Bryan’s illustrations take on a surreal quality with children playing among shooting stars and riding in rainbow boats as the speaker of the final poem reminisces about a beloved friend who has passed on, which can be determined through Bryan’s illustration of an elderly woman’s face appearing alongside two children, all of whom share an expression of past-times.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poems, beautiful pictures - this could really be the anchor to your children's story and rhyme library, because it is so much more accessible than a lot of those nonsense Mother Goose rhymes. There is still a lot of nonsense and fun to be had here, though, and whimsy and dreaming and snowflake kisses. My only problem was that it stereotyped gender in a couple of places, but again, this is better than the typical Mother Goose fare. Well, okay, one more complaint - I wish it were longer than 13 poems/31 pages!

Note: these poems are pretty clever and mix rhymes with free verse occasionally, so older children will appreciate them more. Although if you start reading it young like all those Mother Goose, it would probably just become a part of their reading language.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giovanni's poetry is stronger than Bryan's illustrations in this book, but I love Bryan's bright and bold use of color. My favorite poem is "Snowflakes":
Little boys are like
Snowflakes
No two are alike
Missing teeth skinned elbows
Always
Stinky sticky slippery sweaty and sweet

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully paired poetry and artwork. About a third of the poems are winter themed. Some are too difficult or abstract for my students (3-5 years old), but I can definitely see opportunities to use some of the work with the children. Lovely collection.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

One poem is a bit gender stereotypical, but overall, cute, well-done writing. The illustrations are vibrant and have a wonderful feeling of texture to them.