Photosynthesis: Changing Sunlight into Food

Janet Collins is a freelance writer in Sechelt, British Columbia.

Bobbie Kalman is the author and publisher of more than 150 children’s
books, which are extremely successful in schools and public libraries
because she writes them with specific curriculum needs in mind. The
books are notable for presenting easy-to-understand information along
with eye-catching full-colour photos and illustrations. They also
contain a glossary and an index, which are important for young students
using the books as reference material for reports.

Her Nature’s Changes series is no exception. In Changing Seasons,
Kalman begins by explaining how Earth’s shape and rotational pattern
create different climates in different parts of the world at different
times of the year, aka the seasons. The basics of spring, winter,
summer, and fall are highlighted by showing how animals, plants, and
nature adapt and change in response to weather patterns.

Some of the books begin with questions central to their themes (e.g.,
What are plants? What is metamorphosis? What is camouflage?).
Photosynthesis explains how plants gain sustenance. The unique and
varied ways plants do this while living in the desert, in the ocean, or
in the child’s garden are all discussed, as is the food chain that is
rooted in plants. Metamorphosis follows the changes many insects and
amphibians undergo in the course of their life cycle (e.g., the journey
from egg to caterpillar to butterfly, the transformation from egg to
tadpole to frog). Camouflage looks at what different animals and insects
do to protect themselves from predators (e.g., stick insects are hard to
distinguish from the tree branch they are on; the willow ptarmigan
changes its plumage seasonally).

What isn’t so well hidden are the similarities between the latter two
books and What Are Camouflage and Mimicry? from Kalman’s Science of
Living Things series. So librarians might want to do some careful
comparisons with books already in their collection before making a
purchase. Recommended with reservations.