Sunflower Hour

by Poppy Green, Jennifer A. Bell (Illustrator)

Overview

Sophie Mouse visits a sunflower field in the summer in this twenty-second sweet book in The Adventures of Sophie Mouse!

All summer long, Sophie Mouse has been looking forward to the one golden hour when the sunflowers are in their best bloom. She has even planned a whole picnic to celebrate! But no one seems as interested in the sunflowers as Sophie is. How can she convince everyone to stop and smell the flowers?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Sophie Mouse chapter books are perfect for beginning readers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665970563
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Series:	Adventures of Sophie Mouse Series , #22
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	90 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Poppy Green can talk to animals! Unfortunately, they never talk back to her. So she started writing in order to imagine what they might say and do when humans aren’t watching. Poppy lives on the edge of the woods in Connecticut, where her backyard is often a playground for all kinds of wildlife: birds, rabbits, squirrels, voles, skunks, deer, and the occasional wild turkey.

Jennifer A. Bell is an illustrator whose work can be found in greeting cards, magazines, and more than forty children’s books. She studied fine art at the Columbus College of Art and Design and spent many years designing seasonal giftware and greeting cards before becoming a children’s book illustrator. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1   The Last Day of School

 

  Sophie Mouse turned to gaze out the open window of the schoolhouse. Early afternoon sunbeams streamed in and spilled down onto her desk.

  Mrs. Wise was reading aloud from the final pages of An Alarmingly Large Strawberry in Tinytown. It was a special treat for the last day of school.

    Sophie sighed as she gazed outside. She loved read-aloud time. But today it was hard to follow along.

  Summer vacation was just minutes away!

  What would Sophie do with all her free time? She could paint every day! She could stop in at her mom’s bakery to say hello. And to grab a treat, of course.

  Most of all, Sophie hoped to explore. Maybe she would find a part of Silverlake Forest she had never seen before.

  But was there anywhere she hadn’t already discovered?

  She had already explored Crystal Cave with her friends Hattie Frog and Owen Snake. They’d camped at Pine Crest Campground, too. One time they’d even found a hidden cottage deep in the woods.

  Mrs. Wise shut the book loudly, and Sophie snapped out of her summer daydream.

    The mystery of Tinytown’s giant strawberry had been solved. But Sophie had missed the ending!

  I’ll have to borrow the book from the library and read it myself, she thought.

    “Besides strawberries, what are some things you grow in your gardens?” Mrs. Wise asked the class.

  “Lettuce!” called out James Rabbit.

  “We grow all kinds of flowers,” Piper chimed in.

  That makes sense, thought Sophie. Piper was a hummingbird, and she loved flower nectar.

  “Lovely!” said Mrs. Wise. “Does anyone have a favorite flower?”

  Sophie raised her hand.

  “Marigolds!” she declared. “No, daffodils. Or buttercups? Well, I like lilies, too.”

  The class giggled as Sophie held her head in her hands.

  There were so many wonderful flowers. How could she choose just one?

  “I like sunflowers,” said Piper. “It’s my mom’s favorite too. Every summer she visits a sunflower field in the forest.”

  Sophie’s ears perked up. A sunflower field? In the forest?

Just then Malcolm Mole pointed at the clock on the wall.

  “It’s two o’clock!” he shouted.

  “So it is,” Mrs. Wise said, chuckling. “School is dismissed. I will see you all again when we smell a hint of autumn in the air.”

  Everyone jumped out of their seats. They hurried to their cubbies to pack up their things.

    Sophie’s little brother, Winston, was the first out the door.

  “Summer vacation!” he shouted, pumping his fists in the air.

  But Sophie hung back.

  “Piper, where is that sunflower field?” Sophie asked.

  Piper scratched her head.

  “I can’t remember exactly,” she replied. “I’ve only been there once with my mom. But I do remember a big juniper tree. We rested our wings there. And there was a yummy berry bush nearby.”

  “Thanks!” Sophie said. She turned to catch up with Hattie and Owen.

  Piper waved a wing. “Have a good summer!”

  “I will!” replied Sophie. “Because I have a brand-new place to explore!”