Sunflower Seeds

At the end of kindergarten, Ms. B gives each of her students four sunflower seeds: one for the birds, one for the rain, one to taste, and one to grow. What follows is a whole summer of careful watching and tending until finally the beautiful sunflowers emerge. Ellen Heck's oil paintings on brown paper are extraordinary — thick, textured, and golden. The book ends with over a thousand seeds spilled across a spread and a quiet nod to what started the whole thing: a good book.