Anno's Magic Seeds [Hardcover]

Mitsumasa Anno (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A wizard gives Jack two magic seeds with the instructions to eat one, which will feed him for one full year, and plant the other, which will produce two more seeds and allow the cycle to continue, but Jack has his own idea, in a fantasy introduction to numbers and counting.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anno (Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jug; Anno's Hat Tricks) offers another worthy addition to his collection of playful stories with mathematical themes. A brief prelude tells of a wizard who gives happy-go-lucky Jack two golden seeds and directs him to eat one and bury the other: "I promise you it will grow and give you 2 more magic seeds in the fall." Jack does as he is told, and the cycle repeats for a number of years, until Jack decides one fall to bury both seeds. As Jack buries more and more seeds each consecutive year, readers are challenged with a series of questions ("How many seeds grew that year?"; "How many seeds did they bury?"). The mathematical gymnastics become even more rigorous as Jack marries, has a child, begins to store some seeds and sell others... until a hurricane wipes out the crops and Jack must begin all over again. Kids on the older end of the targeted age span will have fun with this, and although the arithmetic is well beyond those on the younger end, they'll enjoy Anno's lilting, linear narrative-as well as his soft, appealingly primitive watercolors. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?A happy-go-lucky young man and some magic seeds are the familiar elements of this deceptively simple tale. Anno provides the enchantment. An old man gives Jack two golden seeds and a simple formula for becoming self-sufficient. He faithfully follows the directions, eating one of the seeds, which amazingly takes care of his hunger for the year, and planting the other the following spring, which produces two new seeds. He enjoys several years of easy subsistence until he decides to fend for himself one winter and plant both seeds. The next and each successive season begin a geometric progression of harvests?2 sprouts produce 4 seeds (one of which he eats), 3 plants produce 6 seeds, 5 yield 10, etc. In no time at all, he has a bountiful surplus and shares his wealth first with Alice, who becomes his wife, and eventually their son. Even when a hurricane devastates their crops and storehouse, 10 seeds are saved and the family begins anew. Anno illustrates the multilayered story (and its mathematical operations) with his trademark spare, clear watercolors using metallic gold circles to represent the stored seeds and red ones for those that are consumed. Pictorially and conceptually, he explores the fundamental magic of planting and harvesting crops in this celebration of life and its many riches.?Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Philomel; 1st ed edition (February 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399225382
• ISBN-13: 978-0399225383
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,293,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Using Math in the real world, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Anno's Magic Seeds (Picture Books) (Paperback)

Anno's Magic Seeds is yet another book written by Mitsumasa Anno that integrates literature with mathematics. This book is a useful tool for teachers attempting to provide a connection of math in the real world for their students. The story is enchanting and it certainly proved to be a creative way for beginning a math lesson- atleast it was for my 4th graders! I highly recommend this or any of Anno's books to stimulate children's interest in mathematics!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart book for smart kids, January 10, 2007

By 

Bea Levy (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anno's Magic Seeds (Picture Books) (Paperback)

Deceptively simple in the beginning, this story builds in complexity and excitement from start to finish. It is an intelligent story made exciting through mathematics. Anno's Magic Seeds is a clever introduction to the concept of investing toward the future. As always, the illustrations are lovely.

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable math tale & more, October 12, 2010

By 

Emmett Major (Mississippi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anno's Magic Seeds (Picture Books) (Paperback)

It can be challenging to find literature that works in a math class, but this one does. Aside from the math I use it to teach students about desire (Jack deciding he wanted more than the two seeds) and the sacrifices we often will need to make if we really want something different for ourselves.