Arrow to the Sun

Title: Arrow to the Sun

Author/Illustrator: Gerald McDermott

Summary: A boy is born to him mother, however he does not have a father. After he is not accepted by the other boys he sets out to find his father. It turns out that the boy’s father is the sun and after completing 4 challenges he knows this for sure. The boy returns home and is happy.

This book has amazing pictures. The illustrator Gerald McDermott uses geometric figures and bright colors to fill the pages with life and character. The story surrounding the images is a great way to get students interested in fantasy vs. realism. Throughout the story the reader is thrown in situations that could not really happen such as the boy becoming an arrow and shooting towards the sun. However there are situation that could really happen such as the boy being rejected from his peers. I conducted a lesson on fantasy vs. realism earlier this semester for my practicum. I was instructed to use a specific book and form my lesson around it. I would much rather have used this exciting story to explain what fantasy means. The story has a boy not fitting in because he is without a father. This would be an interesting time to introduce how not all families are the same. A teacher could begin the lesson with this story and use more literal non fantasy books to follow up the lesson.  This would also be a great book to use as an example for an art project. McDermott used Pueblo Indian Art to inspire this book so a teacher could have her students mimic this way of illustrating. Overall I really enjoyed reading and viewing this Caldecott award winning story.