Miss Maple's Seeds
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Miss Maple's Seeds is a gentle, warm, and imaginative fantasy about a tiny woman (small enough to fly astride a bluebird) who helps seeds grow by collecting unsprouted "orphan seeds" in summer, keeping them warm in her maple tree home during winter, and then depositing them to bloom in safe places in spring. Beautiful illustrations give the book the look and feel of a classic. Twenty different kinds of seeds, from acorn to pumpkin, are pictured and identified on one page.
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What's the story?
Tiny Miss Maple lives in a tree and flies around on the back of a bluebird, collecting seeds and acorns, gathering \"orphan\" ones that failed to sprout in the ground during the spring planting, caring for them, and then when the time is right, planting them. She even takes them on field trips to \"learn about being a seed\" and to show them where it's best and safest to bloom. In the summer, she collects \"orphan seeds\" that failed to sprout, keeps them warm and safe in winter (reading to them by firefly light), and then sends them off in May to take root.
Is it any good?
MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS has the look and feel of a classic. Author-illustrator Eliza Wheeler imagines a miniature person devoted to helping along the seasonal process of seeds turning into plants, vegetables, flowers, and trees. The book has the warm, gentle appeal of a Tom Thumb or Thumbelina story, with Miss Maple flying through the air astride a bluebird and making her home inside a maple tree trunk. Although the central notion of a tiny woman as seed caretaker is not scientific, the process of seeds growing seasonally is, and there's a full page that identifies 20 different types of seeds, from acorn to pumpkin.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about how seeds grow. Have you ever grown something from a seed?
Why are fantasies about tiny people so popular with kids? Have you read any other or seen movies featuring them?
Plant something in the ground or in a pot on a windowsill and watch it grow. What does it need to turn into a healthy plant, flower, or vegetable?
Book details
- Author: Eliza Wheeler
- Illustrator: Eliza Wheeler
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Science and Nature, Wild Animals
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
- Publication date: April 4, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 3 - 5
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Hardback, Kindle
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.