The Tiny Seed

Dazzlingly colorful collage illustrations and a simple but dramatic text tell the fascinating story of the life cycle of a flower in terms of the adventures of a tiny seed.

Carried aloft by the autumn wind, the tiny seed, along with other bigger seeds, travels far over the world. the journey is perilous: one of the bigger seeds is burned by the sun; another falls into the ocean; still another is eaten by a bird. Even after those that are left have landed on fertile ground and begun to grow, danger is near: one small plant is stepped on; one little flower is picked; but the tiny seed keeps growing almost unnoticed. Young readers will cheer at the happy outcome of this exciting tale. And they will long remember the heartening message of the tiny seed's steadfast perserverance in the face of many hazards and obstacles until its final joyful success.

Carried aloft by the autumn wind, the tiny seed, along with other bigger seeds, travels far over the world. the journey is perilous: one of the bigger seeds is burned by the sun; another falls into the ocean; still another is eaten by a bird. Even after those that are left have landed on fertile ground and begun to grow, danger is near: one small plant is stepped on; one little flower is picked; but the tiny seed keeps growing almost unnoticed. Young readers will cheer at the happy outcome of this exciting tale. And they will long remember the heartening message of the tiny seed's steadfast perserverance in the face of many hazards and obstacles until its final joyful success.

From his own experiences as a child, and from observing his own two children as they grew up, Eric Carle became convinced that children have an immense curiosity about the world around them, and that learning is a joyful adventure for them if information is presented in an imaginative and creative manner. Nearly all of his award-winning and beloved picture books contain nuggets of real facts, but presented in such beautiful illustrations and innovative texts that learning from them becomes a delightful game. Most also contain useful psychological insights which young readers absorb almost without realizing they are doing so. Both pleasures and learning opportunities abound in The Tiny Seed.