The Tiny Seed ANNOTATION
A simple description of a flowering plant's life cycle through the seasons.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Dazzlingly colorful collage illustrations and a simple but dramatic text tell the fascinating story of the life cycle of a flower in terms of the adventures of a tiny seed.
Carried aloft by the autumn wind, the tiny seed, along with other bigger seeds, travels far over the world. the journey is perilous: one of the bigger seeds is burned by the sun; another falls into the ocean; still another is eaten by a bird. Even after those that are left have landed on fertile ground and begun to grow, danger is near: one small plant is stepped on; one little flower is picked; but the tiny seed keeps growing almost unnoticed. Young readers will cheer at the happy outcome of this exciting tale. And they will long remember the heartening message of the tiny seed's steadfast perserverance in the face of many hazards and obstacles until its final joyful success.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
This picture book admirably conveys the miracle of a seed. Flower pods burst and dispatch their seeds on the wind; the air-borne seeds are subject to myriad disasters; and the ones that make it through the perils of the seasons to become mature flowering plants are still susceptible to being picked, trod upon and otherwise damaged. But nature allows for survivors, and so the tiny seed grows into a giant flower, releasing its seeds and continuing the cycle. As he has demonstrated with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other books, Carle has an extraordinary kinship with nature. Here we have not just the explanation of the life of a flower, but drama, lessons of life and a lovely spirituality. This is a reissue of the original 1970 edition, with expanded, expansive collage illustrations. The pages, like the seed pods, burst with color. Ages 4-8. (March)
Publishers Weekly
Steve Lavis looks at animals foreign and domestic with two Peek-Through Board Books. On the Farm follows the wooly sheep as he searches out who has eaten its breakfast. As each page is turned, more animals become visible through the die-cut spaces. The culprits are found behind the tractor. In the Jungle follows the same format, only this time a crocodile is in hiding. "Here I am!" shouts the crocodile on the last spread. Then he asks, "Who wants to hide next?" ( Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot
The fascinating cycle of plant growth is described in this board book by Eric Carle. It opens with autumn when the wind blows seeds into the air. Out of all the seeds that start the journey only a few make it to the ground in winter. Along the way some have been burned by the sun, fallen into the ocean to feed the fish, landed on a frozen mountain top or fallen onto the dry, inhospitable desert sands. It is not even safe on or in the ground. Birds feed on the seeds and mice nibble others that are in the ground. Finally, spring arrives and the seeds start to grow. Still there are dangers because weeds can grab all of the sun and rain that the little seeds need, but several manage to sprout. Once again all is not safe because a big human foot crushes one of the plants, and the flowers are so attractive that they are picked. During the summer one little seed survives and it grows into an enormous plant with the biggest flower that anyone had ever seen. Autumn comes and the entire cycle repeats. The collage illustrations are attractive and tell the story without needing to read the words. The board book version works from the standpoint of the illustrations, but there is a large amount of text in small type so the book's appeal may be to younger children with fairly long attention spans. This is part of the "A Classic Board Book" series. 2005, Little Simon/Simon & Schuster, Ages 4 to 7.
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