I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast

I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast

By Author / Illustrator

Michael Holland, Phillip Giordano

Genre

Environment

Age range(s)

7+

Publisher

Flying Eye Books

ISBN

9781911171188

Format

Hardback

Published

25-03-2020

Synopsis

Enter the incredible world of plants to learn about the green machines of the natural world. Using just the rays of the sun, trees and flowers help create everything from rubber to honey. Find out the powerful science going on in every leaf, petal and stem with vibrant illustrations that will make you look at plants in a whole new way.


From expert ecologist and educator Michael Holland, this illustrated compendium celebrates the plants in your life, from minty toothpaste to the floral names in your classroom. This comprehensive guide covers everything from the parts of a plant through to conservation, and also features DIY projects for young gardeners.

Reviews

Bryony

I Ate Sunshine For Breakfast: A Celebration of Plants Around the World certainly lives up to its name. This entire book feels like sunshine and full of pure joy from page one.

Visually, this book is stunning and joyous. It is a true celebration of plants and nature. From the beginning endpapers to the end, I was drawn in by the images first. Stylised but correct and not at all babyish, these incredible illustrations enhance the words in the text and allow the reader to visualise exactly what the words are talking about.

The text to accompany the pictures is informative and takes the reader on a journey all around the world and through history. Exploring the many uses of plants from housing to medicine and sport, this book allows children and adults to explore different plants and learn about groups of plants. While each section builds on each other, this book can also be dipped in and out of.

There are pages in each section called DIY and these involve experiments with plants that link to the preceding information. Some are easy for children to conduct independently while others need adult supervision. Each one is set out clearly and the instructions detail when more supervision is necessary. There is little specialist equipment needed and these would fill an afternoon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this bright, colourful book and felt like I was filled with sunshine upon finishing! Highly recommended for Key Stage 2 children, although younger children could access this too. It is well worth a place in any good library or bookshelf and would also make a stunning gift for a young nature lover.

128 pages / Ages 7-11 years / Reviewed by Bryony Davies, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 7+

 

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