If you plant a seed by Kadir Nelson

HarperCollins, 2015. ISBN 9780062298898
(Age: Pre-school - Yr 3) Mouse and Rabbit plant some seeds - a tomato seed, a carrot seed and a cabbage seed. In time, with love and care and nurture and nourishment, the seeds grow and they enjoy the fruits of their labour. Delicious. But the word spreads to the birds who would also like to partake of the rich, ripe plants - and demand that they are given some. But Mouse and Rabbit are reluctant to share. And so begins a tale that is almost Aesop-like in its didacticism as selfishness is contrasted with generosity and the fruits of the latter are "very, very, sweet". Not only do Mouse and Rabbit have an endless harvest of abundance, they have many new friends too.
Award-winning creator Kadir Nelson has created a magnificent story through a clever combination of sparse text and rich illustrations that will engage the very young reader over and over again with something new to discover with every reading. The colours gleam against the backgrounds and the use of perspective is superb. Together, a theme about reaping what you sow that is as old as time is interpreted in a way that is as new as tomorrow's dawn offering lots of scope for sharing and reflecting.
Barbara Braxton