Seeds [Hardcover]

Ken Robbins (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

SEEDS!

SEEDS!

SEEDS!

From summer's flourishing flowers to autumn's succulent fruits, everything begins with a tiny little seed.

In this fascinating chronicle, young readers will learn how seeds grow, and how they vary in shape, size, and dispersal patterns. From cherry pits to exploding pods, to sticktight seeds that cling to your shoes, acclaimed photographer and author Ken Robbins illuminates how wondrous nature springs up throughout the year before our very eyes.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3 - With its interestingly composed, close-up color photos, this book explores a variety of seeds and their methods of dispersal. The text is simple enough for independent reading; however, some of the concepts are not adequately explained. For example, Robbins states: "From the seeds that farmers sow, in the spring and summer come wonderful fruits - delicious sweet plums and cherries, peaches, apricots, and many others," and some youngsters may think that these fruits come from annual plants, not orchard trees. This is a worthy secondary purchase, however, for its pictures and for creating an awareness of the vast variety of seeds and their importance both for plant propagation and as foods for humans and animals. Jean Richards's A Fruit Is a Suitcase for Seeds (Millbrook, 2002) covers the same concepts, but has watercolor pictures rather than photographs and includes two pages of frequently asked questions. - Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 3. Robbins uses a simple text and many crisp, large-scale photos to introduce seeds to young children. A typical double-page spread presents a single plant and its seeds or several plants whose seeds are similar. A few sentences in large type comment on the specific topic, and color photos, often close-ups of plants or seeds, are silhouetted against white pages. The artwork is striking and effective, but the organization and content of the text are weaker. For example, the sentence "From the seeds that farmers sow, in the spring and summer come wonderful fruits--delicious, sweet plums and cherries, peaches, apricots, and many others" needs some interpretation from an adult. Fruit trees, even seeds from the fruits named, are usually said to be planted rather than sown, and a hopeful child who plants a peach pit will wait many summers for the fruit. Still, preschool and primary-grade teachers will appreciate this for the clarity and beauty of its illustrations. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (January 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689850417
• ISBN-13: 978-0689850417
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Agriculture
  • #60 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Photography

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SEEDS!, March 2, 2005

By 

Karen Woodworth Roman "Happy Librarian" (DeKalb, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seeds (Hardcover)

A gorgeous picture book that provides some very basic info about plants and seeds. Written in a conversational manner. For example, "When you eat a sandwich, consider this: The bread is not much more than the seeds of a grass called wheat, ground up into flour and mixed with some water and a little bit of yeast." The book layout and design are varied and photographs are bright and clear. This is an interest building book that may lead to more in depth study. Karen Woodworth Roman, Children's Science Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars A clear primer on how seeds grow, October 4, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seeds (Hardcover)

Young readers receive a clear primer on how seeds grow, how they differ in size and shape, and how they perform differently in nature with the same goal in mind: to produce growing plants. From different shapes and sizes of seeds in fruit and flowers to trees and plants, excellent large-size color photos and very easy explanations makes Seeds useful for grades 1-4.