Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm. Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life. Illustrated by Molly Bang. Blue Sky Press, 2009. Age 4 to 8.
Living Sunlight is a study of the interconnectivity of life on Earth, cleverly disguised as an engaging picture book. The book is narrated by the sun, who has a friendly, authoritative voice: “All living things—including YOU—pulse with my light and keep it circling around the Earth.”
The sun explains photosynthesis in a way that is comprehensible to young children, using a combination of of scientific information and sound effects. (“KAZAP!” is the sound a plant makes when it breaks down water, in case you were wondering.)
The sunlight is drawn in dots in the illustrations, and those dots are in or around every animal and plant in the pictures. How do we get the light inside of us? By eating the plants, of course! (That’s as far as the book gets into the food chain, which is an acceptable simplification for the target audience.)
This is a book kids will enjoy, whether they are capable of absorbing the information within, or just in it for the radiant illustrations.
