Product Description

Join the tiny seed on an adventure as it becomes a giant flower!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42488 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 36 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781416979173
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From 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.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Eric Carle well-known creator of many beloved picture books for small readers and listeners, including such classics as Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, The Tiny Seed, Rooster's Off to See the World, A House for Hermit Crab, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He is especially celebrated for his unique ability to combine learning with pleasure. Children delight in the distinctive beauty of his illustrations -- richly layered collages in glowing colors -- and they love his entertaining stories, which invite them to make their own discoveries in a natural, joyful way.

Born in Syracuse, New York, Eric Carle received much of his education in Germany. He is a graduate of the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Stuttgart, where he learned about Goethe's color theory and complementary colors. But the chief inspiration for Hello, Red Fox came from his talks with young readers themselves, who were surprised and fascinated when he demonstrated for them -- just like in this book -- that all colors have opposites.

Eric Carle has two grown children. He and his wife live in western Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

The Tiny Seed
This book is a wonderful story about the life cycle of a seed. I used this book in my unit on plants for my 2nd grade class. It is a wonderful tool for a lesson on the beginning of a plant's life. Your students will love looking at the wonderful illustrations that reinforce the story. I highly recommend this piece of quality literature and all of Eric Carle's books for your child or classroom.

not the best for intended age group
I think this book is fine, but not for the preschool crowd. I would use it with older children -- elementary age -- to discuss the life cycle of an annual, the role of the seasons, and the challenges of reproduction which must be overcome by all plants. The Tiny Seed introduces us to many of the hazards faced by seeds and seedlings as they attempt to grow (from falling in water and drowning, being eaten by birds or mice, being overshadowed by large weeds, being stepped on by children, and more) and shows how the ideal environment is a necessity. It covers the role of sunshine and rain, how the seed swells and bursts open, how the plant develops as it grows, and how it produces and disperses its seeds to carry on the next generation. It's not a book for small children, though, since its mostly non-fiction tone is dry, the phrases are stilted, and it doesn't read aloud well. I find it difficult to "cheer on" the tiny seed; where others see him as a hero facing difficult odds, I think the book is too grimly determined to be educational and becomes boring for the youngest child. If you want a book to introduce a unit on seed dispersal, this is the one. If you want to talk with your three year old about the cycle of the seasons, you'd be better off with the Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter collection by Gerda Muller.

Great for VERY specific type of child
My son has been fascinated with this book. He understands so much more than I gave him credit for. He's only 2.5 years old, but he's EXTREMELY verbal and very bright when it comes to books. However, I agree with the english teacher/mommy that it is NOT for the average toddler. I think a bright preschooler or for the child who is fascinated with plants and flowers, it is quite appropriate. I can see an OLDER child in first, second or third grade getting more out of it science wise, but that doesn't mean that a toddler can't enjoy it. I remember reading books and understanding more and more of the details as I got older, which made it a "new" book for me with each passing year, if that makes sense. I re-discovered the story or read it in a new way with more life experience with which to process it. So with that in mind, I think it's a terrific book overall. I do not find it at all disturbing that a seed should drown or burn up. It's a fact of life that seeds don't all survive. If you think of it in terms of humans, sure it's disturbing, but I think that's a paralell that cannot and will not be drawn by a toddler, preschooler or even a young elementary school child. In my view, the English teacher is reading too much into that and reading the book from the viewpoint of an adult with a whole lot more life experience. HOWEVER, I totally agree that the book ends abruptly, which is why I add my own ending when I read it to my child which goes something like this, "and off the seeds sail in the wind to hopefully become beautiful plants and flowers NEXT spring. The end." I'm kind of surprised nobody told Eric Carle or his publisher that the ending was too abrupt. But it's not a big deal. Eric Carle's biggest hits with my son have been "Head to Toe", "The Very Hungry Catepillar," and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," as well as this title. The rest have been a flop. Luckily we check them out at the library and do a test run on them first. :)