What's This? - Softcover

Caroline Mockford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846860709 ISBN 13: 9781846860706

Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

Rare book

About this title

Review:

One winter morning a seed lies on the ground. "What's this?" wonders a little girl passing by. Together with an equally curious bird and a wise ginger-colored cat, she plants the seed and begins the wondrous process of growing a flower. What will it be? Every day she waters the patch of soil, and watches over the tender sprout when it emerges. And one summer day, when she runs outside, there is a giant sunflower, beaming up at the sun! The little girl continues to nurture her flower, visiting it, telling all her secrets. And when the fall day comes that the sunflower's head droops, the little girl carefully carries it to school and gives it to her teacher, who helps the class begin the cycle anew. Next summer, every child in the class has a magnificent sunflower!

Caroline Mockford's exquisite acrylic paintings fill every page with lush seasonal color and almost childlike depictions of the girl, the cat, the bird, and the flower. In the simplest and sweetest of terms, Mockford describes the natural life cycle of a flower. Following the story is a page for grownups who may want to go into greater depth with children about roots, shoots, flowers, seeds, and growing sunflowers. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

Review:

"In early spring, a bird, a little girl and a cat find a seed, plant it, and watch it grow. As the months pass and the sunflower grows and blooms, the little girl cares for it, visits it, and even tells it "all her secrets.' When fall comes, the girl carries the huge blossom to school to share the seeds with her classmates, who start growing them during the winter. The next summer, "every child had a beautiful, smiling sunflower!'... A last page includes information on roots, shoots, flowers, seeds, and growing sunflowers." --School Library Journal

"The colorful, stylized acrylic illustrations, full of vibrant greens, oranges, and yellows, bring the timeless story to life. The layout is simple and clean, with the text in bold print, and the easy vocabulary and straightforward syntax are appropriate for the audience." --Booklist

"The perspectives and line are childlike but sophisticated, and the colors combine in novel and arresting ways.... The composition, like the book itself, captures the bubbly mood of spring." --Publisher's Weekly

"In early spring, a bird, a little girl and a cat find a seed, plant it, and watch it grow. As the months pass and the sunflower grows and blooms, the little girl cares for it, visits it, and even tells it "all her secrets.' When fall comes, the girl carries the huge blossom to school to share the seeds with her classmates, who start growing them during the winter. The next summer, "every child had a beautiful, smiling sunflower!'... A last page includes information on roots, shoots, flowers, seeds, and growing sunflowers." --School Library Journal

"The colorful, stylized acrylic illustrations, full of vibrant greens, oranges, and yellows, bring the timeless story to life. The layout is simple and clean, with the text in bold print, and the easy vocabulary and straightforward syntax are appropriate for the audience." --Booklist

"In early spring, a bird, a little girl and a cat find a seed, plant it, and watch it grow. As the months pass and the sunflower grows and blooms, the little girl cares for it, visits it, and even tells it "all her secrets.' When fall comes, the girl carries the huge blossom to school to share the seeds with her classmates, who start growing them during the winter. The next summer, "every child had a beautiful, smiling sunflower!'... A last page includes information on roots, shoots, flowers, seeds, and growing sunflowers." --School Library Journal

"The colorful, stylized acrylic illustrations, full of vibrant greens, oranges, and yellows, bring the timeless story to life. The layout is simple and clean, with the text in bold print, and the easy vocabulary and straightforward syntax are appropriate for the audience." --Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1846860709
• ISBN 13: 9781846860706
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32