A gentle reminder to stop and enjoy the beauty around us, The Sun Never Hurries by Roxane Turcotte and Lucie Crovatto leaves readers with a sense of calm.

Papa Jo and Charlie are spending the day together. She is intrigued by the hourglass on his bookshelf and he tells her he uses it to remind him to slow down and take his time. Throughout their day, Papa Jo and Charlie take their time, doing things and going places at a slower pace so that they can notice new things.

Roxane Turcotte writes a beautiful intergenerational story that reminds readers to sometimes take the slow way in their travels. Throughout the story, I appreciated how Papa Jo and Charlie decided to walk instead of drive, to row a boat instead of using a motorised one, to peel potatoes and carrots for soup instead of opening a can. With our overscheduled lives where we rush from one thing to another, this story reminds not only young readers but especially their grownups to take a minute in the day to notice something new and appreciate nature.

Also, throughout the story, Papa Jo encourages Charlie to do new things letting readers know that, just like Charlie, they are capable of doing new and challenging tasks.

I love the scale of this book! It’s so big! The font is huge compared to other picture books making it a dream to share with a crowd of readers or just as perfect as a cuddle up story to dive right into the gorgeous illustrations by Lucie Crovatto. Her art is perfectly evocative of a warm summer day with the bright yellows, oranges and reds throughout the pictures. There is a lovely softness to her drawings, allowing readers to escape into the story.