A Seed Is Sleepy

by Dianna Hutts Aston, Sylvia Long (Illustrator)

Overview

This gorgeous book from award-winning artist Sylvia Long and author Dianna Hutts Aston offers children a beautiful and informative look at the intricate, complex, and often surprising world of seeds. Poetic in voice and elegant in design, the book introduces children to a fascinating array of seed and plant facts, making it perfect reading material at home or in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452131474
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sylvia Long is the illustrator of many bestselling books for children. Her detailed paintings are inspired by her love of animals and the outdoors. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Editorial Reviews

Favorite series and successful formats come to the fore this spring. In a starred review of An Egg Is Quiet, PW wrote, "Like the subject matter it describes, this book packages with understated elegance the substantive matter found within it." The same could be said of its companion, A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston, illus. by Sylvia Long. A similar approach contrasts fruit seeds ("A seed is fruitful"), from Papaya seeds to a Texas barberry, with the majestic redwood ("Who would guess that a seed as small as a freckle would grow into the world's tallest tree?") and the ancient seed of an extinct date palm tree found in Israel-when planted, "it sprouted!" Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

As they did with An Egg is Quiet, Aston and Long have teamed up to produce another beautiful and informative book. The opening spread with its colorful array of seeds is enough to intrigue any reader. As the book relates, some seeds lay in the soil waiting for the right conditions before they sprout. Some may take a few months, others like the Texas mountain laurel might wait ten years. Young readers will learn that ninety percent of the plants on Earth are flowering plants, and it is the fruits that help to protect and sometimes nourish the seeds. The spread showing the life cycle of beans, rice, pumpkins, and a few other seeds is quite enlightening, as is the detailed look at the bean seed. The varieties in nature are stupendous—ranging from a tiny orchid seed which looks smaller than the periods at the end of a sentence to the gigantic coco de mer palm, which can weigh up to sixty pounds. Seeds wait for the right time to propagate; they may travel in various ways—in the air, floating on water, or through the excrement that an animal leaves behind. The process of photosynthesis is described, and the final spread shows a bright array of big yellow sunflowers—which are now definitely awake. Kids can challenge themselves to match up the seeds from the initial spread to the plants they produce as depicted in the final spread. It is a wonderful way to introduce science to young children.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

In this worthy follow-up to their An Egg Is Quiet, Aston and Long celebrate the magic that makes a seed—"sleepy…tucked inside. Snug. Still." —become a flower. Each double page poetically describes the state of a seed, with text in script-like print, while additional information is added in regular type, along with a host of clearly labeled naturalistic ink and watercolor illustrations that fill, almost dance across, the rest of the pages. We follow various kinds of seeds as they spread or are carried to a place where they can grow. And then a seed is thirsty, hungry, clever, and finally "awake!" Although the intent here is to deliver information about a wide variety of seeds, Long illustrates the facts in an artistically sensitive manner. Her ink lines present the smallest details where needed, while the watercolors depict the ultimate end of the seeds' objectives, from a violet's purple flower to the stages of a bean plant's development, to the glorious double-page celebration of giant sunflowers. The introductory double-page spread depicts a host of clearly labeled seeds, while the final spread shows the plants that emerge from each.

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz

Gr 1-4 - Another contemplative look at the natural world from the pair who created An Egg Is Quiet(Chronicle, 2006). This introduction to seeds and plants uses simple sentences that will stretch children's minds and imaginations. Each spread is devoted to the seed's many attributes, including adventurous, inventive, generous, ancient, and clever. The text then builds on these descriptors with interesting facts: "It knows to seek the sunlight...." The author does not shy away from words that children may be unfamiliar with; rather, she constructs sentences that define these words in terms that children can understand: "Not all seeds are eager to germinate. Some have lain dormant, or slept undisturbed, for more than a thousand years." Long's ink-and-watercolor sketches, full of rich color and intricate detail, merit high praise. Readers not yet familiar with cursive writing may experience some difficulty deciphering portions of the text independently, but this book is a wonderful addition to units that focus not only on seeds and plants, but also on writing and the language arts.-Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

School Library Journal

"This introduction to seeds and plants uses simple sentences that will stretch children's minds and imaginations . a wonderful addition to units that focus not only on seeds and plants, but also on writing and the language arts." School Library Journal,Starred Review

"...will pull children into basic botany...and encourage kids to wonder about the plant world's mysterious, gorgeous spectrum of possibilities." Booklist, March 15, 2007

From the Publisher