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Susan Marie Swanson
Margaret Chodos-Irvine
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To Be Like the Sun
Susan Marie Swanson Illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

    9780152057961 Hardcover
015205796X
$16.00
40pages
Available
Trim Size: 8 x 11-1/2
Copyright Year: 2008

Territory: World
Ages: 3 to 7 years

Synopsis
Within every tiny seed lies the secret of what's to come. First a shoot, then a stem, a leaf, a bud--and finally a brilliant sunflower reaching high for the sun. Join a young girl as she waters and watches, celebrating the everyday miracles of growth and life.


Praise
"Addressing a sunflower seed, a small girl contemplates the transformation from seed to sunflower and back to seed again, from spring planting through winter snow. The poetic lines are exquisite, philosophical yet concrete. . . .Chodos-Irvine’s bold illustrations, utilizing various 'nontraditional printmaking techniques and materials,' juxtapose images of sunflower and sun and emphasize curving circular shapes that reinforce the recurring progression of life, the seasons and day and night. . . . The large, wonderfully patterned illustrations are perfect for sharing, and the ideas lend themselves to discussion and curriculum applications for young children." (starred review)
Kirkus Reviews,3/15/2008

"The lyrical free verse is enhanced by Chodos-Irvine's colorful linocuts. The blocky yet realistic prints fit the mood perfectly and bring subtle layers of interpretation to the words, as when tiny sunlike fireflies are added to the dusk scene in which the flower is 'thinking about the sun/even when it has gone away.' Younger children will enjoy the concrete imagery while older readers will appreciate the effortlessly evoked themes of seasons, life cycle, and the miracles of nature."
School Library Journal,4/1/2008




Biography

SUSAN MARIE SWANSON has written several picture books and teaches poetry to children through a writers-in-the-schools residency program. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

MARGARET CHODOS-IRVINE is the illustrator of many highly praised children's books, including several she has also written. She lives in Seattle, Washington.





Margaret Chodos-Irvine  Web Site Read Interview

General Subjects
Juvenile Fiction- General
Juvenile Fiction- Nature & the Natural World

Curriculum Themes
Science & Nature

Rights Details
Rights Holders: B/T/A/P/M: Harcourt

Rights Information


Harcourt Children's Books
A Division ofHarcourt Trade Publishers
A Harcourt Education Company