I Touched the Sun

By Leah Hayes

Illustrated by Leah Hayes

A young boy goes on a journey to meet the Sun and discovers his inner light, in this wondrous picture book debut from the NYT-Bestselling graphic novelist of Not Funny Ha-Ha.

His mother says it's too far away. His dad says it's too hot. And his brother says he has more important things to do. But none of this discourages a young boy from pursuing his plan: to fly up into the sky to touch the Sun, whose light always feels so nice on his skin. And so, off he goes, all by himself.

Warm and kindly, the Sun shows the boy the world from her perspective: her friends the clouds, the beaches upon which she shines down, the trees she's grown, the rainbows she creates. In return, the boy shares with her some of his dreams, fears, hopes, and uncertainties — complexities of the human condition that the Sun, as a cosmic force of constant light, has never experienced. In this way, the boy begins to understand something about the pattern of light and shadow that makes up every human life. 

And when it's time to part ways, the boy returns home to his family changed, with an inner light that reminds him that the cosmic force of the sun is in him, too, always, though darkness falls, though he sleeps and dreams, though doubts and fears and gloominess come, too. 

'A boy befriends the sun in a story that will fill readers with the deep warmth emanating from its two lead characters. I wasn’t prepared for this book and the affecting warmth of its wisdom.' — Cartoonist and illustrator R. Kikuo Johnson

'A beautiful exploration of the inner light in all of us.' — Cartoonist and animator Dash Shaw