It Starts With A Seed

By Author / Illustrator

Laura Knowles, Jennie Webber

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Aurum Press

ISBN

9781910277171

Format

Hardback

Published

21-09-2016

Synopsis

With lyrical text, enchanting illustrations and a beautiful fold-out scene to complete the story, this award-winning picture book takes you on a journey through the seasons and years as you follow a seed's transformation from a seedling to a sapling, then a young tree, until it becomes a large tree with its branches and roots filling the page.

As the tree grows, it is joined by well-loved woodland creatures - squirrels and rabbits, butterflies and owls - who make it their home. A rhyming poem builds page on page, echoing the rings of a growing tree. The story culminates with a fold-out page showing a mature tree shedding seeds to continue the beautiful cycle of life. At the back, find the full poem and facts about the specific tree, a sycamore.

Beautiful and evocative, It Starts With a Seed is a factual story that will touch children with its simple, enchanting message of life and growth.

It Starts with a Seed was the winner of the inaugural Margaret Mallett Award for Children's Non-Fiction.

Reviews

It starts with a seed is simple information book which outlines the life cycle of a sycamore tree. It begins with a clear illustration of the distinctive helicopter seeds. These are a pair of wings which spin like helicopter blades as they float down from the tree. The Jennie Webber illustrations follow the seed through the book as it germinates in the soil, develops into a seedling then finally, over many years, grows into a mature tree which is the habitat for variety of creatures. The cycle continues through to autumn and the seeds are once again ready to be taken by the wind and spin away to make new trees. The text is poetic and takes the young reader thoughtfully through the tree's life cycle. The book is an ideal starting point for exploring trees with a Key stage 1 class. Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by Fiona Collins, consultant.