Story Seeds: A Read, Discuss, Do Book List
Books about seeds, an Eric Carle-inspired art project, and more
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It’s March! And that means that in many parts of the world people are looking forward to spring, thinking about their gardens, and perhaps starting some seeds indoors. In some places seeds are already sprouting and gardens may be beginning to bloom. So, with the official start of spring just around the corner, we would like to share with you some books about seeds.
In some ways, books are seeds. Seeds to be planted in young minds to help them learn and grow. Often seeds aren’t just meant to be planted, but tended. That is what we like to encourage you to do with Read, Discuss, Do—to use books to engage and connect with the young readers in your life. Whether you are planning to grow any actual plants this season or not, we hope this list of books, discussion starters, and activities about seeds help you tend the minds of the young people in your life. And your own too!
Read: Any book about seeds!
Our featured seed book is The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.
When a gust of wind carries a group of seeds, a tiny seed is carried to and fro. As seeds are burned up, drowned, and eaten, tiny seed finds a place to land. Winter comes, snow covers the ground, then spring comes and the little seed bursts and becomes a plant. Weeds choke out other plants, but tiny seed is safe as it grows slowly. Tiny seed grows taller and taller until it’s taller than everything, even trees. It’s a giant flower! It’s visited by birds and bees through summer until autumn comes. The wind shakes the flower and the flower’s seed pod opens carry many tiny seeds…
Discuss:
In The Tiny Seed, what happens to some of the other seeds that prevents them from growing? What happens to the plant that grows too fast?
How tall was the tallest flower you’ve ever seen? Taller than you? Do you think flowers ever grow taller than houses?
Have you ever planted a seed? What kind of seed was it? Did it grow to be a mature plant?
A lot of seeds come from fruits. How many fruit seeds can you think of?
Seeds are food for a lot of creatures (including people)! What animals can you think of that eat seeds?
Do: Create a cut paper flower collage inspired by the illustrations in The Tiny Seed.
You will need:
Plain white paper (craft paper, card stock, or printer paper will do)
Watercolor or poster paints
Yellow and black crayons
A wide paint brush
Cup or bowl of water
Scissors
Glue
Instructions:
Gather your painting supplies. You may want to cover your workspace with newspaper or a cardboard box to protect the surface from paint.
Arrange 2 sheets of paper on your painting surface.
One one sheet of paper, make some firm streaks or scribbly marks with yellow crayon. Do the same with the second sheet and a black crayon.
Use a wide brush and red paint to paint all over the surface of the paper with the yellow marks. Do the same with the sheet with black marks, using green paint.
Allow the papers to dry. Don’t worry if the paper warps. If using watercolors, you may want to give your paper another coat of paint. If so, be sure to let it dry completely again.
Use scissors to cut out the flower shapes. Make leaf and stem shapes from the green paper. Make petals from the red paper.
Arrange the flower shapes on a sheet of white paper to make a flower collage. When you’re happy with your design, glue the pieces down.
Sign your artwork and hang it somewhere for everyone to see!
More activity ideas:
Plant some tiny seeds in a pot or paper cup and watch them grow.
Cut up some different kinds of fruits to see the seeds inside. Compare and contrast the different fruit seeds.
Go for a walk to see if you can spot any seed heads on flowers.
Hang a bird feeder full of seeds in your yard.
More books about seeds
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
This nonfiction book talks about the beginning of all kinds of plants: flowers, trees, etc. Before a seed can grow many things must happen through pollination. This process is described, diagramed, and illustrated in this book–it even shows the parts of a flower, and describes how seeds grow inside a flower. Seeds travel along water, wind, and insects and animals. Finally, you can buy packets of seeds and grow things–like a garden!
Up In the Garden and Down In the Dirt by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
This beautiful follows a girl ready to plant a garden with her Nana. Nana describes what’s happening down in the dirt as the seeds are planted, seedlings grow, and plants emerge, unveiling all that happens below the surface. Nana and the girl start at the beginning of prepping a garden to the harvesting of produce– and then follow the process through the year.
A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds by Jean Richards, illustrated by Anca Hariton
Seeds are planted to grow produce, but did you know that fruits carry their seeds inside them? A fruit is a suitcase for seeds! Explore different fruits such as apple, kiwi, and berries–as well as vegetables like corn–and how you eat some seeds, but not others. Beautiful watercolor illustrations make this book stand out. The question and answer section at the back is full of great information. Can you see seeds in your fruit?
We Found a Seed by Rob Ramsden
When two children find a seed, they hide it in a box, play with it, sing to it, but nothing happens. Then they plant the seed and watch the seed through the seasons. They enjoy the big flower at the end, until the flower dies…but it leaves them a gift: more seeds.
A Seed Grows by Antoinette Portis
This simple but artistic book shows the cycle of a sunflower. It is perfect for an elementary school unit on growing plants.
Every Little Seed by Cynthia Schumerth, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
This shows three generations of gardeners and how they prepare the soil, sow the seeds, and care for their garden. It has wonderful back matter and the repeated tag line,“The secret of a plant lives in every little seed.”
Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman
In a vacant lot filled with piles of trash and rats, a girl named Kim from Vietnam plants some lima beans behind an old refrigerator. Each chapter reveals a new character who plants something different with a unique motivation. This leads to connection and a sense of community, transforming the space into something beautiful!
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long
A lyrical and lovely look at the world of seeds in all its detail and often surprising wonder. This book is sure to make you want to plant a seed of your own.
Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler
A fantastical tale about little Miss Maple, who tends orphan seeds through fall and winter, helping them become ready to head off into the world on their own to find a place to grow. As she sends them off she reminds them, “Take care, little ones. For the world is big and you are small.” It’s a sweet story that will spark young readers’ imaginations.
Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
With simple text and beautiful illustrations, this book shows a chain of events that illustrate how things in the natural world are all connected, and it all begins with an acorn.
Middle Grade
The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going
When Evie moves with her father to upstate New York to live on an apple orchard, they hear rumors that the trees no longer bear fruit because of a curse. But Evie doesn’t believe in curses or fairy tales since her mother’s death. Evie befriends a boy who claims to be dead and receives a mysterious seed as birthday gift, saved especially for a girl named Eve. When Evie plants the seed, it grows into a tree in a matter of moments, but only she and her friend the dead boy can see it. With a touch of magic and eeriness, The Garden of Eve tells a story of grief, healing, and friendship.
One more thing
April is only a couple weeks away, and that means National Poetry Month! Here at Read, Discuss, Do we will be hosting our fourth annual Poetry Challenge, a fun and low-pressure way to challenge our readers and the kids in their lives to read and write more poetry every week in April. Check out last year’s poetry month roundup to get an idea of what to expect. In our next newsletter on March 26, we will share more information, list some poetry resources, and give you a peek at the weekly challenge ahead. Then the challenge officially kicks off on Monday, March 31. We hope you will join us!
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