To Be Like the Sun
Hello, little seed. . . . Do you really know everything / about sunflowers? With brief, lyrical lines of poetry and exuberant, uncluttered prints, this picture book follows a young girl as she plants a sunflower seed and watches it grow through the seasons, marveling at each stage—from the planting of the seed, with instructions that are written in its heart, to the emerging bud, like hands closed tight around a treasure. Finally, the sunflower blooms, and a glorious spread shows the girl, arms stretched wide, celebrating the flower’s beauty: You’ve made your own sun / up over my head. The poem’s seasonal shifts are abrupt, and a few lines feel as if they were chosen more for their sound than their sense: a sunflower seed is smaller than a word. But the girl’s contagious curiosity about each stage in the sunflower’s growth and the sun-soaked images of summer gardens will easily engage young children, and the basic presentation of the plant’s life cycle makes this a natural for classroom sharing. Preschool-Grade 1. --Gillian Engberg