Seeds Move!

by Robin Page

Overview

Discover the fascinating and surprising ways that seeds move and find a place to grow in this gorgeous picture book from Caldecott Honoree Robin Page.

Every seed, big or small, needs sunlight, water, and an uncrowded place to put down roots. But how do seeds get to the perfect place to grow? This exploration of seed dispersal covers a wide range of seeds and the creatures that help them move, from a coconut seed floating on waves to an African grass seed rolled by a dung beetle, to a milkweed seed floating on the wind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534409156
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	504,066
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Robin Page has written and illustrated several picture books, including the 2003 Caldecott Honor recipient What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?, which she created with her husband Steve Jenkins, and A Chicken Followed Me Home! and Seeds Move!, which she both wrote and illustrated. Robin and Steve live in Boulder, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

02/20/11

Using lively verb phrases, Page describes the ways in which seeds use their environments to germinate. “A human touch, a passing animal, or a gust of wind—the slightest jostle can send exploding cucumber seeds shooting from their pods.” A seed also “drifts,” like a coconut in the ocean; “squirts” from the mouth of an orangutan; “parachutes. When a milkweed pod splits open”; and “plops” after a bear consumes berries. Each spread provides additional details about the way seeds propagate (“the jay forgets where it put some of its acorns, and those seeds may become new oak trees”). In realistic digital art, Page captures the fine textures of feathers and fur, and the layers of leafy soil and grainy sand. A rich portrayal of the many sides of seeds. Ages 3–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2019

PreS-Gr 1-Young viewers will be captivated by striking illustrations of how seeds catapult, hitchhike, plunge, drift, and move from place to place in other ways. Dramatic images include seeds shooting from the pod of an exploding cucumber and squirting from the mouth of an orangutan that had eaten durian fruit. Other illustrations offer close-up views of a dung beetle rolling a seed that smells like antelope droppings, and milkweed seeds parachuting from their pod. The text highlights each example with a simple sentence in large type that emphasizes the important verb. An accompanying explanatory paragraph in smaller type provides additional information for older listeners. Location designations, especially for unusual plants like the yang-na tree and monkey ladder, would have been helpful. Consider pairing with Soo-bok Choi's The Journey of Seeds or Joann Early Macken's Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move for further explanation of seed development, movement, and growth. Although other books present information about seed dispersal, Page does an effective job of introducing the topic at a very basic level. VERDICT A good read-aloud choice for groups; perhaps before planting seeds, as the text suggests in its final pages.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato

School Library Journal

2018-11-12

Page examines how seeds move from their parent plants to places where they can sprout and grow.

The simple prose relies on action verbs for punch, if not scientific accuracy: A seed may "hitchhike," "catapult," "parachute," or even "plop"—in the poop of a berry-eating bear. Some spreads depict related actions: The large, buoyant seeds of the coconut palm and monkey-ladder vine can both drop into water and "drift" or "float" off, perhaps finding an auspicious shore for propagation. Particularly intriguing are seeds adapted in ways that encourage animals to mobilize them. Bloodroot seeds contain a morsel tasty to ants, which carry the seeds to their nest to eat and bury. The seeds of an unspecified African grass look and smell like antelope droppings, tricking dung beetles into rolling them underground. Farmers and gardeners are also acknowledged, and kids are encouraged to plant a watermelon seed "and see what happens." Crisply delineated against white space, digital illustrations use color, texture, and form to depict striking, identifiable images that are nonetheless stylized rather than scientific. Some of Page's choices in visual perspective may confound children curious about the sizes of seeds and animals. No geographical or biological information is provided for the plants and animals depicted—a missed opportunity to further engage young readers.

A pleasant but facile introduction to the important concept of seed dispersal. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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