Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 3. Robbins uses a simple text and many crisp, large-scale photos to introduce seeds to young children. A typical double-page spread presents a single plant and its seeds or several plants whose seeds are similar. A few sentences in large type comment on the specific topic, and color photos, often close-ups of plants or seeds, are silhouetted against white pages. The artwork is striking and effective, but the organization and content of the text are weaker. For example, the sentence From the seeds that farmers sow, in the spring and summer come wonderful fruits--delicious, sweet plums and cherries, peaches, apricots, and many others needs some interpretation from an adult. Fruit trees, even seeds from the fruits named, are usually said to be planted rather than sown, and a hopeful child who plants a peach pit will wait many summers for the fruit. Still, preschool and primary-grade teachers will appreciate this for the clarity and beauty of its illustrations. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-With its interestingly composed, close-up color photos, this book explores a variety of seeds and their methods of dispersal. The text is simple enough for independent reading; however, some of the concepts are not adequately explained. For example, Robbins states: "From the seeds that farmers sow, in the spring and summer come wonderful fruits-delicious sweet plums and cherries, peaches, apricots, and many others," and some youngsters may think that these fruits come from annual plants, not orchard trees. This is a worthy secondary purchase, however, for its pictures and for creating an awareness of the vast variety of seeds and their importance both for plant propagation and as foods for humans and animals. Jean Richards's A Fruit Is a Suitcase for Seeds (Millbrook, 2002) covers the same concepts, but has watercolor pictures rather than photographs and includes two pages of frequently asked questions.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) This gorgeous book focuses on seed basics: differences in shapes and sizes, and links between structure and function in terms of seed transport. So much information lies in the photographs themselves: seeds are shown alongside the whole plants and fruits they come from; close-ups of seed structure allow readers to see adaptations for wind or water transport. While the text points out these concepts, much of the burden of understanding how the photographs reveal these distinctions among seeds lies with young readers (or their adult helpers). That said, the superb photographs lend themselves to scientific scrutiny: the details are sharp and clear, with photographs placed in ample white space, and the examples are well chosen to highlight primarily familiar plants. The one conceptual misstep -- Robbins assigns intent to a plant -- occurs on the first page: ""inside each seed another plant...wants to grow."" Nevertheless, the questions raised by the engaging photographs go well beyond the text and are an effective gateway into discussion of plant reproduction. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Zoom in on some of the most common seeds and learn a few facts along the way. From dandelions and berries, to coconuts and wheat, this is a springboard for conversations about how seeds form, grow, and travel, but cannot stand on its own for those facts. It's the pictures that make this text work. The photography is excellent, allowing readers to see both the bigger picture of each plant, and extreme close-ups of the individual seeds. These show the colors, textures, and sometimes even the fast motions of the seeds. Teachers will wish that Robbins had placed more emphasis on general seed facts, but overall this is a good beginning and a great resource in its photographs. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
