The Moon Seed

by Sally Anne Garland, Sally Anne Garland (Illustrator)

Overview

The Moon Seed is a reimagining of the real events following the Apollo 14 mission, where an astronaut brought along a bag of seeds. This is the story of one of the seeds, back on Earth...but longing to return to the moon. Praise for Sally Anne Garland's books: The Chalk Garden "A lush, joyful picture book, full of growth, colour and creativity." —The Guardian Nook "A sensitive character study with feelings that run deep." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Stuck Inside "A very joyful book with engaging illustrations and a lovely message to boot." —The School Librarian

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781503772243
Publisher:	Phoenix International Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.25(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.33(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sally Anne Garland grew up in a small town called Alness in the Highlands of Scotland. According to her parents, her first really good drawing, at the age of four, was a large mural in crayon on the sitting—room wall. She went on to study Illustration and Graphic Design at Edinburgh College of Art before settling in Glasgow, where she lives with her partner and their son. When she's not drawing or writing stories, she has fun reading books, watching movies, and going on walks.

Editorial Reviews

When the Apollo 14 mission set off for the moon in 1971, one of the astronauts took along a bag of seeds. In The Moon Seed Sally Anne Gardner imagines what happened to one of those seeds. Whilst floating free in the spaceship, the seed saw the moon — the most bright and beautiful thing it had ever seen, and when the seed was planted back on earth, it put all its efforts into growing so tall that it could reach the moon. As the seed grew it realised it could only see the moon at night, so it stayed awake to look at the magical sight in the sky. Yearspassed and still the tree that grew from the seed could not reach its desire, but it did become home to many creatures, one of whom, a squirrel, helped the tree to see things differently by suggesting it slept at night in order to see the beauty of the dawn and the sunshine. When the tree saw the blue sky and its own green leaves it realised that the earth was also bright and beautiful. Perhaps it had been striving for something that was mirrored around it all the time. As well as being a magical and beautifully illustrated story, there is a message of appreciating the beauty that is around us. Age range 3—7.'

English 4—11 Magazine

An astronaut for the Apollo 14 mission to the moon took a bag of seeds with him. This book is a reimagining of what might have happened to one of those seeds. For nine days this particular seed floated around the spaceship, with its two wings twirling. It spotted something unbelievably bright and beautiful from up on the moon. Once back on earth, a forester planted the winged seed deep in the soil. Down went its roots, up came its shoot, striving to grow so tall that it could reach the moon again. The days, months, years passed until the tree was fully grown. Night after night, a bear, chipmunks, rabbits and skunks sheltered in and around the tree. Poetic in language, the tale speaks for every growing thing upon earth, even those striving to reach the moon. Beautifully illustrated in soft muted tones, sometimes in bright shining colours, the book leaves a tender spot for all seeds planted and tended, on our stunningly handsome earth... and for the moon. A book to ponder upon, and return to; and maybe be encouraged to plant a seed and tend it through its growth.

https://booksforkeeps.co.uk/review/the—moon—seed/ - Books for Keeps

Taken into space aboard a rocket, a sycamore seed spots something beautiful. Once planted back on Earth, the growing tree pines for the Moon, waking only by night and yearning to reach it — until at last it sees the dawn revealing that where it stands is the beautiful planet once viewed from afar. A quietly spectacular picture book, reimagining the journey of a seed aboard Apollo 14.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/23/childrens—and—teens—roundup—the—best& - The Guardian

When the Apollo 14 mission set off for the moon in 1971, one of the astronauts took along a bag of seeds. In The Moon Seed Sally Anne Gardner imagines what happened to one of those seeds. Whilst floating free in the spaceship, the seed saw the moon - the most bright and beautiful thing it had ever seen, and when the seed was planted back on earth, it put all its efforts into growing so tall that it could reach the moon. As the seed grew it realised it could only see the moon at night, so it stayed awake to look at the magical sight in the sky. Yearspassed and still the tree that grew from the seed could not reach its desire, but it did become home to many creatures, one of whom, a squirrel, helped the tree to see things differently by suggesting it slept at night in order to see the beauty of the dawn and the sunshine. When the tree saw the blue sky and its own green leaves it realised that the earth was also bright and beautiful. Perhaps it had been striving for something that was mirrored around it all the time. As well as being a magical and beautifully illustrated story, there is a message of appreciating the beauty that is around us. Age range 3-7.'

English 4-11 Magazine