Top Ten Tuesday: Springtime Seeds

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Springtime Seeds

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

With simple language and bright illustrations, non-fiction master Gail Gibbons introduces young readers to the processes of pollination, seed formation, and germination. Important vocabulary is reinforced with accessible explanation and colorful, clear diagrams showing the parts of plants, the wide variety of seeds, and how they grow.

The book includes instructions for a seed-growing project, and a page of interesting facts about plants, seeds, and flowers. A nonfiction classic, and a perfect companion for early science lessons and curious young gardeners.

Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler

What happens to seeds that don’t sprout? Fortunately, they have Miss Maple to look after them. Every year, she rescues orphan seeds, taking them to her cozy maple tree house. All winter long, she nurtures them and teaches them the ways of seeds and the paths by which they might find their new homes. And come spring, she sends them off to take root out in the wide world and to sprout into the wonderful plants she knows they’ll become. Celebrate every season with Miss Maple, from Earth Day to graduations to harvest festivals.  

Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

Beautiful collage-and-watercolor art follows the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a zinnia in a garden full of buzzing bees, curious hummingbirds, and colorful butterflies. Children engage with the book as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail. Appropriate for even the youngest child, Plant the Tiny Seed is never the same book twice—no matter how many times you read it!

Seeds by Carme Lemniscates

Some seeds are whisked away by the wind, while others are carried by creatures to their destinations. Once seeds find their spot, they go through breathtaking transformations, multiplying in number and size and thriving in even the most unseemly places. We humans plant seeds, too, and with care we can cultivate and nurture something wonderful, whether by sowing a seed in the earth or by choosing our own seeds of kindness to spread around. With gorgeous, welcoming illustrations, the creator of Trees and Birds presents another ode to the beauty around and within us.

A Seed Grows by Antoinette Portis

To understand how a seed becomes a sunflower, you have to peek beneath the soil and wait patiently as winding roots grow, a stalk inches out of the earth, and new seeds emerge among blooming petals.

“A seed falls,
And settles into the ground,
And the Sun shines,
And the rain comes down,
And the seed grows…”

Leading up to a striking fold-out spread of a full-grown sunflower, the lively, bold illustrations in A Seed Grows offer a close-up view of each step of the growth cycle.

Additional material in the back of the book explains the science of plant life cycles, and goes into more detail on the ways in which flowers and seeds depend on other creatures.

A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

Turn each page to explore the amazing world of these garden wonders through watercolor illustrations that bring to life nature landscapes filled with seeds, flowers, plants, leaves, and trees.

Seeds Move! by Robin Page

Every seed, big or small, needs sunlight, water, and an uncrowded place to put down roots. But how do seeds get to the perfect place to grow? This exploration of seed dispersal covers a wide range of seeds and the creatures that help them move, from a coconut seed floating on waves to an African grass seed rolled by a dung beetle, to a milkweed seed floating on the wind.

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Buddy gets five colorful bags in the mail from his grandfather, who writes:

Dear Buddy,
Have , five days of fun!
Love, Gramps
P.S. It’s almost spring!

Buddy finds a surprise in each bag, and with each surprise he discovers something wonderful about seeds. In one bag, for example, there are different kinds of seeds which Buddy pastes onto colored paper and which are reproduced photographically in the book for accurate identification. In another bag, there are cards that show how seeds grow. As Buddy sorts, collects, eats, and creates with seeds, he learns plenty about growth and germination, making this introduction both entertaining and educational.

Nat Geo Kids: Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini

Kids see plants, flowers, and trees around them every day. In this lively and educational reader, they’ll learn how those plants grow. Kids will take this magical journey from seed pollination to plant growth, learning about what plants need to thrive and grow with the same careful text, brilliant photographs, and the fun approach National Geographic Readers are known for.

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

In autumn, a strong wind blows flower seeds high in the air and carries them far across the land. One by one, many of the seeds are lost — burned by the sun, fallen into the ocean, eaten by a bird. But some survive the long winter and, come spring, sprout into plants, facing new dangers — trampled by playing children, picked as a gift for a friend. Soon only the tiniest seed remains, growing into a giant flower and, when autumn returns, sending its own seeds into the wind to start the process over again.

Eric Carle’s eloquent text and brilliant collages turn the simple life cycle of a plant into an exciting story, a nature lesson, and an inspiring message of the importance of perseverance.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.