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Plants are living things. They come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny waterweeds to towering trees. Plants are different from animals in one very important way - they can make food for themselves from sunlight. Animals can't do this. They depend on plants for their food. Plants grow just about everywhere - in fields and forests, deserts and mountains. Apart from air, the two things plants need are sunlight and water, so you won't find them in places that are completely dark or dry.
Plants are just as alive as you are. They need air, food and water to grow, and they can make lots of new plants like themselves. This proves that they're alive. Things like stones and rocks don't feed or grow because they're not alive.
- All food in the world starts with plants. You may eat eggs, meat, and cheese but without plants no chicken or cow could produce these food!
Fish have to breathe to stay alive, just as you do. But while you breathe oxygen from the air, fish take it from water. As they swim, fish gulp in water and push it out through slits called gills on their heads. Oxygen passes from the water into the fish's blood inside their gills.
Fish swim by using their muscles to ripple their bodies along. Wiggling their tails from side to side gives them extra push. They use their other fins to balance and change directions.
Penguins can't fly through the air because their wings are too short and stumpy. They are much more at home in the ocean, where they use their wings as flippers. Squid don't have flippers or tail, but they're still fast movers. They suck water into their bodies, then squirt it out so powerfully that their bodies shoot backwards.
