Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

Stunning mixed media illustrations

Sunflowers Rise in a Midnight Sky is a whimsical tale of possibilities that stretch your imagination. Reading this book felt like I was in a colorful dream. A must-read book for kids that is sure to cause some giggles.

This enriching book is perfect for artists looking for inspiration and those who admire art-focused styles. The text is limited on the page with more focus on the illustrations with the words supporting these images. Each image is layered with texture added that resembles tissue paper and draws your eye along each page. The font placement is just as playful as the images with the sentences often distorted going up vertically or at angles than traditional font does. These are fun and upbeat which inspires you to be playful and delve deeper into your own imagination while you analyze the meaning behind each image and the words associated. This is highly recommended and each page offers something unique and original. You won't find another book like this.

I was not a fan of the text . . . or was it a poem?

"Sidewalk squares stand straight on end, tumbling down like dominos.
A sand dollar is traded for a polka-dot rose."

Well . . . okay then.

The artwork by Tang Wei, however, was spectacular. Eventually, I gave up on the "story" and just enjoyed the pictures.

The mixed-media illustrations were stunning and gorgeous and creative. But the story was...weird? Dreams came alive, so weirdness was expected I suppose. The rhyme scheme did not always flow well for reading aloud, missing syllables and added sentences.

The tone of this lovely illustrated book is pensive, but also joyful, as the reader's imagination is both excited and soothed by the mixed media artwork. One truly feels like one is travelling in a fantastical land full of quirky beings and bold landscapes, and if one could find the way there, one could join in the adventures of the beings pictured there.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Empyrean Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Wow! The mixed media usage for the illustrations in this book is amazing!! Add to that the unique type setting (to have the words follow the lines from the images: sometimes curved, straight, sideways, etc) really brings each page layout together.
I have two small criticisms that many may not be concerned about:
1) there is a mention of Heaven once, it’s brief and innocuous (no god references) but it is there;
2) it doesn’t rhyme. The best of the best bed time stories always rhyme, or at least flow a bit better than this one did, especially when read aloud. It may just be me but it was not as lyrical as I would have hoped.

All that said if those two elements don’t bother you then this book is an art piece unto itself. Well worth pouring over as an adult, thereby certainly engaging for a child. The illustrations are both colourful, yet not so crazy that they distract or interfere with a bedtime routine. I just can’t over emphasize how great the art is in this book. I’ve not seen anything quite like it in some time.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

I loved thisread, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading. I was sent an early copy by netgalley and I am very greatful

Sunflowers Rise in a Midnight Sky is a beautifully illustrated children's book exploring the endless possibilities of our dreams. The story was cute and inspirational! A great read!

Beautiful, mesmerizing, enchanting! Very astounded,the more you look at each picture, the more you see. Truly a work of art.

In this fantasy poem, accompanied by drawings made with delicate sensibility, what is merely imagined in dreams comes to life. Purple grass, purple cows, winking shadows, polka-dot flowers, cats that tell jokes, trees that dance, ladybugs wearing lipstick, violinist birds, frozen water that turns into cake, gigantic lollipops, flying popcorn, mutable words, spiders made of diamond, mermaids that sleep on seaweed, dancing berries, tunnels made of water... all in the span of one night. Reality opens a brief door to impossible wonders until the sun rises again. Even the adult reader will be charmed by this exuberance of childlike fancy.

Publishing date: 01.02.2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Empyrean Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: I ate too much candy after bedtime
The book left me: Feeling like a kid being told a bedtime story

Negatives:
A little too short
I am clearly not the correct age group

Positives:
Gorgeous art
Whimsical

Features:
Whole-page art, short poems on each page, "imagine if", an escape to a different an fantastical world

Why did I choose this one?
I have to admit, I did it for the cover. The art alone would have given it 5 stars. Adore ths kind of style

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Devourable. Finished in a single gulp.

What was the vibe and mood?
Dreamy, comforting, unburdened and free.

Final ranking and star rating?
A tier, 4 stars. I can't give this full pot simply because I didn't connect with the poems themselves. I can admit I am simply the wrong age for this kind of book. But the art carried it all the way to four stars.

I wanted to love this gorgeously illustrated fantasy. Sunflowers Rise in a Midnight Sky offered lyrical verse and imagination-challenging artwork on every page.

But somehow it really missed the mark for us, and I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it was too "out there", simply too fantastic to be truly engaging for a small child? All I know is that by the end the "imagine this" and "what if" that got almost tedious. We can't see this as something we'd pull out to read every night (or "again! again!") before bed.

Sunflowers rise in a midnight sky

What a magical world is this book, i wish i could go there and live there the most beautyfull life.
This is a book that you will love and read and read over again.

The illustrations are sweet and magical you want to touch them.
The text in rime is short and nice to read out loud because of the rime.

Not only for children but for all who wants to escape to another sweet world.

It is a nice present to give to your friend or to give for children.
Go dream away in this magical world.

The illustrations in this book are incredible! Even without words, I would have given this book five stars. I definitely need to pick up a copy for my classroom when it comes out, as my students will definitely be obsessed with it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to review an advance copy of this book!

A list of things from dreams, concerning ice cream, clouds' silver linings, water effects, and more, all brought to life with at-times startling visuals. The end result is very blue, but made bold with gold and other colours too, but it's a shame that such visuals don't really do a lot for me. They're heavy on the texture, from the pimples of canvas to paper cutout upon paper cutout, but as I say the end effect is too messy, in my mind, to be a success. And here the text is just that random-seeming list of enigmatic dream snatches, put what's worse at the most awkward angles across the page. I can see the inspiring and creative impetus this might bring, were we too to imagine dream worlds coming to life, but few would be this rarefied if we tried the same, and clearly not that many such lists would make for brilliant reading. Two and something stars.

Wow, the illustrations in this book were just breathtaking. So much creativity and attention to detail. I could stare at them for hours. The poetry, however, was a little meh for me. They weren’t particularly catchy or memorable for a younger audience. I think they were lacking a strong narrative. Maybe if there had been a child in the beginning asking if dreams were real, and then the rest of the book was set to be exploring the possibilities, it would’ve been more cohesive. There were also some points where it was hard to follow the sentences because of the color or taking a second to figure out its order. Overall, an extremely beautiful picture book but with a poetry/story that lets it down a little.

First of all, let me just say that the artwork in Sunflowers Rise in a Midnight Sky is absolutely gorgeous! Beautiful vivid colors are mixed with interesting textures to create art that is perfect for this whimsical story. I will say that my 3-year old would probably not be very interested in this at the moment as he prefers books with more plot, however I can easily see myself pulling Sunflowers Rise out when he's just a little older to introduce him to mixed media and poetry. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Empyrean Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book would be great as a bedtime story. The words read like lyrics and have a great rhythm. I love the illustrations, they are absolutely beautiful and showcase the words in an interesting way. I would use this in a visualization lesson where I read it to my students and have them close their eyes to imagine what is being read. This is a book that will be read over and over.

Its art is so strong that the prose (the lyrical lines) becomes the complementary to the exquisite art.
A book to read over and over, to look cherish, on your own and with children.
Some lines are deeper and more profound than the others, but this is negligible.