"To me, A Seed Needs Sun qualifies as a living book. The text is pretty simple. It doesn’t really contribute much to the "livingness" of the book, but it doesn’t need to. (No offense intended to Ms. Riggs; this is largely just the nature of a book meant for such young children.) Because of its simplicity, it doesn’t detract, either. Each spread contains a single sentence in the vein of “a seed needs sun” (“a ______ needs _______”) that step through the process of a plant’s growth from seed to flower. For the most part, the text allows the illustrations to do the work. And the illustrations — oh, the illustrations are beautiful! Here’s just one little example. This part is an image from the “dirt needs water” page. Look at the attention to detail here. See how lifelike it is? There’s so much for children to observe, all the way down to the segments of the earthworm. There are multiple types of leaves throughout the book, so you can see differences in leaf shape and venation. There are dried leaves and fresh. Green acorns and dried acorns. Earthworms, insects, mammals, amphibians, and birds. Of course there are all the various parts of the plant: the seed, roots, stem, leaves, buds, flowers. This one little book includes a lot to see! If you’re looking to introduce the youngest members of the family to the concept of growing things, or preparing to begin nature study, this is a fabulous starting point." -Titus 2 Homemaker, Rachel Ramey, November 2021
