A Seed is the Start

by Melissa Stewart

Overview

Beautiful photography and lyrical text pair with comprehensive picture captions in award-winning author Melissa Stewart's story about the surprisingly diverse world of seeds. Learn all about the plant cycle, from how seeds grow, the fascinating ways they travel, and what it takes for a seed to become a plant.

Meet seeds that pop, hop, creep, and explode in this vividly illustrated introduction to the simplest concepts of botany. The story, which is perfect for elementary school Common Core learning, carefully highlights the many ways that seeds get from here to there, engaging children's curiosity with strong action verbs. Stunning photographs with fact-packed captions provide supporting details, explaining the role of seed features and functions in creating new generations of plants. Complete with an illustrated glossary and back matter featuring more resources, this book inspires wonder as it encourages budding botanists of all ages to look with new eyes at plants and their seeds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426329784
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/13/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Melissa Stewart is the author of more than 150 science books for children, including ten National Geographic Readers. Feathers: Not Just for Flying was an ALA Notable Book for Children, as well as a winner of the Cybils Award for Nonfiction and the Nerdy Book Club Award for Nonfiction. No Monkeys, No Chocolate was a Junior Library Guild selection, a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2013 pick, and a NSTA and CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book. Stewart is also the coauthor (with Nancy Chesley) of Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, K–2.

Editorial Reviews

03/19/2018
In a brightly photographed primer about how seeds travel, grow, and thrive as plants, Stewart (Feathers: Not Just for Flying) begins with a corn seed. A cross-section of ground shows the seed as it splits open, its roots push down, a shoot pokes out of the soil, and the corn plant sprouts leaves. Stewart presents other types of seeds, using playful verbs to describe the way they move away from their parent plants. Some seeds “fly” on the wind; others “tumble” across land or “spill,” like those from the poppy plant. Cottonwood seeds “float” on water, and some even “creep,” like that of the blue cornflower: “On humid days, the bristles swell. Thanks to these tiny movements, the seed slowly creeps across the ground.” A section discusses how some seeds travel inside the bodies of animals and are dispersed through digestion: “A few days later, the deer poops out the seeds far away from the parent plant.” Stewart offers an inviting and visually compelling introduction to an essential concept. Ages 6–9. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Engaging text and crisp nature photography capture the surprisingly dynamic journey of seeds as they grow, travel, sprout, and trigger the cycle anew. Action verbs are abound as seeds “fly,” “float,” “pop,” and even “ride, to name a few. Stewart weaves fascinating facts about specific plants into a cohesive and sequential narrative that covers each step of the life cycle. The photographs are bright and vivid, supporting the flow of text and expanding upon the broader context of the content." — School Library Journal

"Help your students with Life Science Standards of the NGSS with A Seed is a Start.  Expertly written with eye-catching photographs and an outstanding vocabulary list showcases seed germination and propagation." — Kevin Daugherty, Education Director, Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom


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From the Publisher

02/01/2018
Gr 1–3—Engaging text and crisp nature photography capture the surprisingly dynamic journey of seeds as they grow, travel, sprout, and trigger the cycle anew. Action verbs are abound as seeds "fly," "float," "pop," and even "ride, to name a few. Stewart weaves fascinating facts about specific plants into a cohesive and sequential narrative that covers each step of the life cycle. The photographs are bright and vivid, supporting the flow of text and expanding upon the broader context of the content. A blurb about how seeds float away to new places ("Cottonwood trees grow near rivers and lakes. Their tiny, fluff-covered seeds land on the water and travel to new places.") makes a visual connection for the reader through an accompanying photo of a duckling swimming along a lake. Ample, legible typeface, along with arrows and other indicators, make for an intuitive reading experience. An illustrated glossary greets readers at the front of the book, defining six key words; an index, selection of books, and a website for further reading are found at the end. VERDICT An appealing and informative take on the subject of seeds and the beginning of plant life; recommended for most elementary science collections.—Erin Douglass, Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library

School Library Journal