In this children's fantasy-adventure, a five-year old Russian boy decides to follow the sun around the earth. He then begins rolling a hoop about the city. He takes his time and frequently pauses to stop and see the world through shards of colored glass. Soon he comes to a maternity hospital where he sees a woman giving birth. He goes on to meet many different characters ranging from a legless shoeshine man who loves soccer, to a pretty young gardener who shows the boy how a sunflower will turn its head to follow the sun. The boy is impressed and delighted until a park worker heartlessly mows the lovely flower down. Angered at the wicked act, the boy confronts the caretaker. Later, the boy shares food with some kindly workers, sees a funeral, and encounters a truck driver. He then begins watching gymnasts working out and falls asleep beside a stone lion; the boy begins to dream that the park attendant is burying the sunflower during a funeral--as soon as he finishes, the man becomes a mannequin. Suddenly the shoeshine man appears walking; he takes the boy to a lovely street where they meet the sun. When the boy awakens, a military musician takes him home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi