FORD GOES LOOKING FOR THE SUN

An outdoorsy child wants to know what the sun is made of in this conservation-oriented debut picture book by Settecasi with illustrations by Bohart (Windermere’s Wish, 2017).

Blue-eyed, red-haired Ford decides to ask the sun a question, and he and his trusty cat Max head off to find it. He asks the sky, a river, a tree, a fish, a frog, and, finally, a bear where the sun is. To each, Ford reveals something he knows, and the helper offers information; for instance, Ford says the river provides water to drink, and the river says the sun’s “heat turns me into clouds and rain,” introducing readers to the water cycle. When Ford finds the sun, it explains that it provides light and heat so that life on Earth can thrive. Ford later asks his mother what he, himself, is made of and sees that he’s connected to everything else. This simplified introduction to the makeup of matter is easy to grasp, with cartoonishly illustrated anthropomorphic characters that young readers will enjoy. A seek-and-find game hides science terms on each page, explained in a glossary. An introduction shows a photo of the inspirational, real-life Ford, the author’s grandson; Bohart’s color images match him to a T.

A fun introduction for budding scientists.