Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring The Earth To Life (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
An amazingly complex tale of earth's life cycle (photosynthesis) between plants and humans/animals, told simply and powerfully for young children. Great for booktalking because the illustrations catch the eye and the text is straightforward and dynamic. The author's notes at the end give more detail, providing an apology for the over-simplification of photosynthesis, while it acknowledges other ways living things extract, split and exhale periodic elements. The notes are most appropriate for much older readers (ages 9-12), making this book a good pick for both the younger and the older set. If there was a prize for a book that contributes the most to basic science literacy, this should win. Most adults could learn something from "Living Sunlight," which works both as a lovely picture book for the first-grade set and as a brightly-colored science Cliff Notes for everyone else. The very lucid explanation of photosynthesis in the main text is expanded in the equally illuminating back matter, which explains what was left out of the main text, and why. (Just as I was getting cranky enough to yank a star over the omission of phytoplankton in the ocean, there it was getting due credit in the "Notes About the Book.") A beautiful piece of science writing.
What do You think about Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring The Earth To Life (2009)?
An interesting and beautifully illustrated look at photosynthesis.
—sherine
Really enjoyed this book and its information. great for class work
—smurf
Great illustrations and explanation of photosynthesis.
—hellotruffles
Get a lot of info and a lot of cool illustrations.
—rruf
