A Wonderleaf question
Why do leaves change color and fall in autumn?
a real page from the book
Leaves change color and fall because a tree is getting ready for winter. With less light and colder air, it stops replacing chlorophyll, so yellow and orange colors show through. Then the tree seals each leaf stem, and the leaf drops away.
A fallen leaf is not just litter on the path. As it crumbles, it returns minerals to the soil around the tree. The bare branches look quiet, but the tree is saving water and energy until new buds can grow.
Wonder words
- chlorophyll
- autumn
- minerals
- buds
Try it out
After dinner, look under a tree and find one leaf that is still green, one yellow, and one brown.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- How do roots know which way is down?
- How do plants drink water?
- Why do fruits taste sweeter when they are ripe?
- How do plants make the food we eat?
- Why do apples turn brown after cutting?
- Why do bananas turn brown?
And the next question?
Ask anything — Wonderleaf writes and illustrates a picture book for it. That's the whole idea.
Ask your own question