Customer Reviews

The Lotus Seed

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This story is easy for young children to understand and is good enough for them to ask for repeat readings, again and again. It contains a few factors that make for a great childrens book. It's relatively short, the illustrations are exceptional, it's easy to understand and it's a compelling story.

Follow the life of Ba, a young Veitnamese girl, who collects a lotus seed from the imperial garden of her emperor to serve as a momento of a time in her childhood. She takes the seed with her through her tumultous life, as she grows, and moves to a new country, and to a new life. The seed seems to serve as a symbol of her past and her endurance.

An exceptional story with outstanding illustration. A girl wanting something to remember the Emperor by takes a seed from a lotus pod from the Imperial Garden. Throughout all of the trials and changes in her life she cherishes that seed until one day it is taken and planted by her grandson. Finally it grows to be beautiful and strong, "It is the flower of life and hope, no matter how ugly the mud or how long the seed lies dormant, the bloom will be beautiful. It is the flower of my country." A superb book that looks at families and Vietnamese culture. (explained further in author's note)

The pictures are lovely and the story is simple, yet eloquent. My own daughter was born whilst I was living oversees. I like to choose books that have a universal (mind expanding) appeal, or that tell a unique story from a far away land, or teach us about tradition. I would recommend this to anyone with small children that want to forego the tradtional fairy tale night time reads.

This is a multicultural and historical delight that sensitively addresses the themes of loss, memory, and change as well as highlighting the special place ordinary items can have in our lives.

I can't get over how beautiful this book is. I can't wait to share it with my Vietnamese students and those who are war refugees. I would like to see if they can relate to the story.

This is an excellent book for teaching reading. It is one of those books you can call a "real book" It was written with children in mind. The illustrations are beautifully done and very naturally help the young reader create meaning.

This has to be one of my favorite children's books and being a soon to be teacher I have read a lot of children's books. One of the reasons it's my favorite is that it touches a subject that is close to my heart, the Vietnamese culture. My mom came to America after the Vietnam war with my sister who was 5 and brother who was 1. I never knew how important the lotus seed could be, but growing up I enjoyed eating the fruit and peeling it off the seed. This book is truely one of a kind and as I read it I learned more about my mom's culutre and just how special it is.

This is one book that I'll keep for many, many years even when I retire from teaching.

This book helps me remember more about Vietnam and why I appreciate my culture so much. The significant symbolism of the lotus seed is the culture Vietnam and what the woman endurance in her past. Ba picked out a lotus seed from the imperial garden because of its beautiful and fresh scent. The lotus seed has never left her side as she carries it with her through the tragedy times and moved to a new country after the Vietnam War. One of her grandchildren planted the lotus seed in the backyard and it grew into a beautiful lotus flower. The beauty of it reminds Ba of her country.

This is definitely one of the best children's book I have ever read. The images are beautifully drawn as they describe Vietnam and the story. The symbolism of the lotus seed reminds me of my culture and I should never forget it. I really like how the author added a Vietnamese poem at the back. A must read for all young and old!

Do you keep things? You know, horde treasures? If you could keep just one of those treasures, which would it be, especially if it signified something of great importance? Ba chose the lotus seed, the subject of this nostalgic story of Vietnam.

When she saw the child emperor abdicate, she ran into the royal garden and took a seed as a memento of a fallen leader (even though he was a mere figurehead at the time). After she married and had children, Ba still held onto the seed. When the war came, she escaped with her children as boat refugees. She grabbed the seed and not her pearl combs to take to America.

One day a grandson, headstrong and curious, wanted to see a lotus flower, so took Ba's precious seed and planted it near her onion patch. What is an emperor, he wanted to know. What is a golden dragon throne? What is a lotus bloom? These stories filled his head. Ba was heart-sick at the loss.

One day "a beautiful pink lotus/ unfurl[ed] its petals,/ so creamy and soft." Ba was delighted. "It is the flower of life and hope...the flower of my country." In time she gave a seed to each grandchild. The boy's sister, the narrator, hid her seed to repeat the new tradition for her own children one day.

So simple. But a simple story is brought to life by Tatsuro Kiuchi's "light-infused" paintings in oil and alkyd colors. There are three different lotus illustrations, each a unique artistic rendering. The first is a close-up of a single bloom against a mountain landscape in a brilliantly red-cast sky. The second is of the palace lotus garden where sunlight is soft and makes the blooms shimmer in whites and pinks. The third is a soft close-up of a single glowing pink bloom.

The lotus seed. A single treasure from Vietnam. I hope this story is true.

*The author's note at the end provides historical background of Vietnam.

The lotus seed is about someone's grandmother who gets a lotus seed to remember her emperor. It takes place in Vietnam. It has lots of information obout what they used to flee from the Vietnam war. I think Tatsuro Kiuchi did a good job with the illustrations. I think every one from 5-8 should read this book.