I See the Sun in the USA

Publisher: Satya House Publications

The United States of America is one of the most diverse countries in the world. More than 323 million people of different faiths, cultural, and ethnic groups live here. I See the Sun in the USA follows Stella, a young girl from Los Angeles, who is helping her mother make a video about diversity and families living in the United States. They visit Mount Rushmore, a National Park in South Dakota, where Stella meets several children from different parts of the country. They each tell her about their lives and Stella imagines what their days are like. 

Readers will learn about similarities and differences with each family depicted in the book. Rosa lives in Alabama; Jamal lives in Massachusetts; Kristin lives in Iowa; Martha is a Lakota Indian and lives on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Each child describes a typical day in their life to Stella and is supported by colorful collage illustrations. An illustrated family tree is also provided that offers some insight into where these families each originated.

Judith Inglese has been designing and fabricating ceramic tile murals for public environments for more than thirty years. Her commissions include libraries, schools, hospitals and municipal and institutional buildings like the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Her murals often focus on the play and imagination of children as well as cross-cultural exchange and community. In the I See the Sun books, she combines photography, cut paper and drawing in her collage illustrations. Like her ceramic tile murals, her illustrations are colorful and detailed with strong forms and line work.

Author, Dedie King, a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, also taught school there. She travels extensively and spends a considerable amount of time, not as a tourist, but immersed in many cultures, living with families who open their homes to her. She holds a MEd and has taught elementary school and children with learning disabilities. Her interest in writing books about different cultures is to bring awareness to young children of both the sameness and the differences of cultures around the world.