SURPRISE IN THE MEADOW

A chipmunk watches a sunflower grow, from seed to seed dispersal.

After his winter sleep, Little Chipmunk wakes to discover that a seed he'd stored has turned into a new plant that grows tall and strong in the sun, droops in the heat, is watered by the rain, develops a beautiful flower, and produces more delicious seeds. The life cycle of this sunflower is chronicled in the third person from Little Chipmunk’s perspective in simple words and short paragraphs set on double-page spreads. The author/illustrator's watercolor illustrations fill out the experience. Details of meadow flora and fauna—a frog, a worm, a snail, bugs and bees, dandelions and daisies, birds and butterflies, a raccoon, three skunks, and a rabbit—are reasonably recognizable and invite readers to look closely. Designed to appeal to a very young audience, the animals have been depicted in these scenes with human gestures and body language (though no clothing). They seem to be smiling. The final wordless spread shows Little Chipmunk tucked away again under a blanket of snow. An afterword describes the life cycle of a sunflower more prosaically. The story parallels children’s experiences planting seeds in many preschools and the early elementary grades and would be a good accompaniment in classroom libraries.

Sweet but also nourishing.