We Wait for the Sun by Katie McCabe

We Wait for the Sun is a sweet recollection demonstrating how love shines through all difficult life circumstances.

We Wait for the Sun by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa. Roaring Brook, 2021, 33 pages, plus Author Note, timeline and bibliography.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 0-4

Recommended for: ages 3-7

“In the hour before dawn we slip out of the house, and the midsummer night is dark and cool.” The little girl and her grandmother feel like the only people on earth, but soon other women join them, all headed for the woods where blackberries grow. In the predawn cool, the berries are so juicy their sweet liquid runs down the girl’s chin and splashes on her overalls. Grandma works in silence until—“Look, Dovey Mae! Over yonder.” The rising sun blazes from pink to gold.

It’s a simple story—more a photo of a memory from Dovey Roundtree, who became a civil-rights activist and attorney in the segregated south. Dovey had an especially close relationship with her grandmother Rachel Bryant Graham, whose firm self-confidence taught the girl to stare down fear and fight for a better day. Their love shines through this beautifully illustrated picture book and the rising sun is an unmistakable symbol of hope.

Overall Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic/literary value: 5

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Also at Redeemed Reader:

Reviews: More warm family relationships depicted in picture books: Nine Months, Drawn Together. Between Us and Abuela.

Reviews: Middle-grade novels about special relationships with grandparents: The Runaways and Caterpillar Summer.

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