What’s Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott; published 1995) is an easily approachable “Let’s Read and Find Out!” book that finds commonalities between a child and other living things. It is written with a conversational voice that would attract very young children and has a second-person narration that directly speaks to the listener. It covers basics of the subject at a superficial level.
After the child is compared to various living things such as a cat and a tree, the book defines the ways the child is similar to the other living things and how all these living things differ from the not-alive things such as the swing set and a rock. The book clarifies why we all need energy and how the various living things get that energy, such as a baby cat drinking milk from its mother, birds feeding their baby chicks. It also introduces plants as living things, giving just a brief overview of plants growing from seeds and that concept that plants “breathe in a special way.” The author describes the basic needs of plants (sunlight, water, air and nutrients) and again compare the ways it moves (growing and bending stems and leaves toward the sun) to a child’s movements. The book sensitively addresses the fact that all living things die.
Throughout, the book encourages children to examine leaves, go for a walk, and try to determine if the items are alive by asking basic questions. This makes the whole book feel more interactive. Older children may be put off by the childish narration, but it works well for a child who wants a book with this tone. It is a great nonfiction picture book for preschool- and kindergarten-aged children. There is no end matter for further exploration, but since the narrator encouraged exploration within the story itself, it doesn’t feel necessary.
