T – There’s a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today

There’s a Little Black Spot in the Sun Today written by Sting and illustrated by Sven Volker (2015)

The illustrator notes and prologue tells the reader that the illustrator’s 3 year old son had a serious illness which required a series of painful shots. Through the injections, his son would cry and beg him to stop. On one of their car trips to the hospital to get more shots, they heard the song King of Pain written by Sting and sung by The Police. His son told him that he felt like the King of Pain, thus prompting him to illustrate Sting’s lyrics in a children’s book.  Although the music and the lyrics might be too sophisticated for a three year old to grasp, the picture book format gives younger readers words to describe the pain they may be going through.The geometric designs mirror the emotions of the song in a way both adults and children can relate.

For those of you unfamiliar with the song, you can listen to it here.

Play with colors and shapes to express feelings of pain, joy, loss, pride, love, loneliness, fear, humor, or any other feeling. See if you can add a phrase or two to describe the feeling. Use different mediums, chalk, crayons, paint, cut paper, torn paper, geometric blocks, tangrams, etc.

For another layer to your art, listen to music which evokes feelings and see what your kids come up with on their own. They may mimic the words of the song or invent their own.