The Tiny Seed

I have always loved Eric Carle's books. I really liked this particular book for a number of reasons. First, it is educational, but still engaging. It shows what can happen to seeds as they are carried by the wind before they are able to land safely and grow into a plant. Two examples of those things are landing in a place where a seed cannot grow, such as a snowy mountain top, or being eaten by an animal, like a bird or mouse. The way it is illustrated is absolutely beautiful to me and I enjoyed going through this book as a college student, so I think they are colorful enough for a child to enjoy, as well. It is also engaging because the narrator asks questions for the reader to consider: "Will it [the seed] be able to keep up with the show more others [other seeds]? And where are they all going?" It keeps you thinking as the tiny seed embarks on its journey, and I think it is an excellent touch. I also like that the entire story is a metaphor. The tiny seed follows the other, larger seeds as the wind carries them to their resting place to grow. Bad things happen to the larger seeds because they are noticed more quickly, and the tiny seed stays off to the side, and is the last seed to begin sprouting. In the end, the tiny seed is the only one to survive and grows into the biggest, most beautiful flower anyone had ever seen. This illustrates the big idea, which is even though you may be small, you can grow to accomplish big things. show less

I like the middle part of the book that shows the many ways seeds can miss the opportunity to sprout and become full-grown plants, but I dislike that the beginning and end have bad information about things in our atmosphere catching fire from the sun and a flower that grows taller than trees and houses. That nonsense spoils it for me.

I really like 'The Tiny Seed' by Eric Carle. This book allows younger student to understand the life cycle of a plant or flower in the simpliest of ways and through an entertaining story. I think this book is perfect for first and second gradersbecause it lays down a solid foundation about the life cycle, while not being very word. The illustrations on 14-16 and 30-31 alone show how flowers are planted( born), get bigger, and then move on to reproduce for flowers before dying. The words are also more suited for younger people such as the text on pg 16 that reads "Oh! He breaks one! Now it cannot grow anymore" describing the death of a plant in a lighthearted way. This book teaches students about how things grow, and leaves an underlying show more message that even small things can grow to be come great and beautiful. show less

A tiny seed is following all the other seeds from the same flower as they blow through the sky with the wind, but the tiny seed has a hard time keeping up. It narrowly escapes many different dangers that some of the other seeds weren't so lucky to avoid. The tiny seed finally begins to grow, slowly at first, but then it keeps growing taller and taller. It grows to be the biggest flower people have ever seen! Fall comes again, and along with the petals, all of the seeds begin to blow off of the giant flower, starting the cycle over again.

This book is really cute, and it touches on the cyclical nature of life, which is a good concept to introduce to children at a young age. Readers can assume that the seeds from the giant flower will go show more through similar things as the tiny seed and their inferencing that builds critical thinking skills. I also liked that you can draw the message that you can grow up to be anything you want to be from this story. The seed was tiny, but it still grew up to be the biggest flower anyone has seen. Plus, the seed's tiny size helped it avoid danger a few times, which teaches that sometimes what we see as our flaws are really advantages. I absolutely loved the illustrations, as it is in Carle's typical collage style with vivid colors and abstract images. Young readers would really enjoy looking at the pictures and hearing this story. show less

I greatly enjoyed “The Tiny Seed”, the central message of which was that even the tiniest seed has the potential to become the biggest flower. I loved the story’s plot, which was the story of a tiny seed who sailed across the world until landing in the earth, and eventually becoming the largest flower anyone had ever seen. This book made the process by which a seed travels, is planted, and is grown accessible to young readers. I also liked the book for its clear, patterned language, e.g., “One of the seeds flies higher than the others. Up, up it goes! It flies too high and the sun’s hot rays burn it up. But the tiny seed sails on with the others.” I felt that the well-paced way in which the story was written made it easy for show more the reader to follow along with the story. Finally, I loved the story’s illustrations, which I felt enhanced the story by so accurately and beautifully depicting the tiny seed’s journey to becoming the largest flower of the bunch. This book is definitely one which I would like to have my in future classroom library, for it makes information about the process by which a seed travels and grows accessible and enjoyable to young readers. show less

Very bold and cute, there's a reason why this author is well-regarded as a children's book author. Also thought-provoking when you realize how many seeds never actually make it.

This book is one of my favorites children's books. The theme of this book is that everyone is on their own path, and you will end up just where you need to be. In the books, it is said that the tiny seed is compared to a lot of the others in a negative way, but when all of that is past, the seed ends up thriving. I think this book is helpful for kids to realize that even if you are different, that doesn't mean you are behind. I also think a lot of adults could get a lot from this book and to not compare yourself to others. I love Carle's use of symbolism in this book and how he makes it very obvious that the seed is supposed to represent tiny humans. The journey throughout this book is tumultuous, but so is life, and we have to learn show more that we can get through it and will end up exactly where we are supposed to be. show less