The Gift of the Sun ─ A Tale from South Africa

In this witty book based on an African folk tale, Thulani prefers sitting in the sun to doing his chores. Tired of milking the cow, he trades her in for a goat. When the goat gets into the corn seed, he trades it for a sheep. Sick of shearing, he buys some geese, which then get exchanged for some sunflower seeds. With each trade, his hard-working wife gets more and more exasperated. Can Thulani redeem himself and still have time for his favorite hobby, doing nothing? Droll text and lively illustrations make this book ideal for repeated readings.

Dianne Stewart lives in Natal, South Africa. She studied Psychology and African languages in order to be able to communicate with the people around her in their own languages. Her titles for Frances Lincoln include The Gift of the Sun, which was chosen as one of Child Education's Best Books of 1996.Niki Daly has won many awards for his work. His groundbreaking Not So fast Songololo, winner of a U.S Parent's Choice Award, paved the way for post-apartheid South African children's books. Since then, he has been widely published and has spoken in several countries. Among his many books, Once Upon a Time was an Honor Winner in the U.S. Children's Africana Book Awards, and Jamela's Dress was chosen by the ALA as a Notable Children's Book and by Booklist as one of the Top Ten African American Picture Books of 2000. Both live in Cape Town, South Africa.