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