Children's Book Author Asks us All to Please, 'Look Up!'

Can you imagine waking up gassy every single day of your life? It would be quite a miserable existence, wouldn’t you say? 

Well, that great big ball of fire we all know as the sun has been gassy for 4.57 billion years without fail… until one morning, it just couldn’t take it any more!

Bed-Stuy resident Deborah A. Belle has written all about one fateful day when the sun finally threw up its hands and decided to take a break in her new children’s book, “The Day the Sun Called Out Sick!!!”

Belle takes an entertaining, hilarious and thigh-slapping approach at explaining to children (and reminding adults) the virtues of the sun— perhaps the singular part of nature we take most for granted.

“I just love the sun,” said Belle. “But how many people look up? I just wanted everyone to look up and say, ‘thank you’ to this big ball of fire that is there every single day when we get up.

Belle said the idea for the book came to her one day when she was listening to the radio and the host said, ‘The sun is always consistent.’ 

"Those words just set off a chain of thought, and in like one day literally I wrote the book," said Belle.

But it would be another three years of prodding from her two young sons, as well as searching for the right illustrator and publisher before Belle could boast a finished product.

The way Belle tells the story is witty and smart, while the dialogue, although innocent, is interspersed with contemporary references and expressions: For example, the Sun has a “Spacebook” (Facebook) account and makes status updates. He also tweets and has a huge crush on Miss Moon.

But equally engaging are the illustrations by Chris Collenberger, who, through his choice of wardrobe and accessory details, assigns the sun, the moon and the earth quirky personalities: Sun is the eclectic cool dude; earth is the nature-loving hippie; and Miss Moon is the modern and precocious fly-girl. 

Parents, be warned: If you’re planning to read the book to your children, expect to share a few outbursts of laughter right along with them.

“We’ve got SpongeBob for the sea, so I thought it would be cute to make children think about what goes on up there,” said Belle pointing to the sky.

“The Day the Sun Called Out Sick,” is available on amazon.comand barnesandnoble.com. Belle is just weeks away from finishing up the interactive book app that will be available for download on most notebooks. With the app, the reader can touch points on the page and see them move (like Sun’s tongue, while he’s brushing his teeth) or make noise (like the record player scratching in Earth’s bedroom).

Deborah Belle’s book is a fun read and a thoughtful reminder -- not only for children, but people of all ages -- to respect the environment and be grateful for all that consistently gives us life.