Review — The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind

This fable is beautifully retold in simple verse, bringing a timeless message to young readers. A man walks along a winding road and is thrown in the middle of a contest between the Sun and the Wind over who can get him to take off his coat. The magical setting and the conflict between the two elements is brought out well in the highly fanciful, painterly illustrations. The Wind, depicted as an angry green-eyed face with bushy eyebrows, tries to blow the coat off the man, but all the huffing and puffing only prompts him to clutch the garment tighter. Then the Sun comes out, also round-faced, but with a gentle smile and rainbow-colored eyes, and warms the surroundings slowly so that the man slips off his jacket and sits down under a tree. The Wind asks, “How did you FORCE him to take off his coat?” Wisely the Sun replies, “Through gentleness I won my way.” A spread at the end shows the man playing the flute and tumbling down a rainbow, evoking the happiness and transformation caused by the Sun’s gentle approach, with the flummoxed Wind looking down on the scene.–Monika Schroeder, American Embassy School Library, New Delhi, India

Title Details: The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind
Author: Heather Forest 
Illustrator: Susan Gaber
Interest Level: GR PreK-3

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