It Starts With a Seed

by Laura Knowles, Jennie Webber (Illustrator)

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 foldout 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.

A 2018 Outstanding Science Trade Book for K-12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council)

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Science, Nonfiction, Poetry, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this 4.5 if I could. The poem follows the lifecycle of a sycamore tree and, more importantly, how fundamental it is to the web of life that relies on it. As the life of the tree grows, so the animals and inspects who rely so much upon it, multiply. The production of the book both in material and illustration is of a noticeably high quality and I loved the portrait size which supported the growth of the tree from seed a fully grown. I also liked the fact that Knowles does not shy away from rich language for the younger reader and particularly loved the line:

'All busily making
a life of their own,
in their leaf-laden,
bark-bound arboreal home.'

This book is a joy.

[Zahrah Al-Merei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even without the beautiful rhyming and pictures, I can see this book being something children are fascinated with. The complex language allows children to extend their vocabulary and the book can easily be linked to outdoor learning/science orientated activities, especially with the facts included at the end.

[Olivia Tosti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gorgeous, poetic story from start to finish! Following the life of a seed throughout the seasons, the amount of activities you could create from this story is endless. I would love to use this book at the start of every season so I could take the children outside to notice similar changes to the beautiful tree illustrations! I also think the title of the book is a lovely metaphor to explore with children as we all start as a seed!

[Grace Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Kate Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures with beautiful words

[Caroline Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute sweet read. I would recommend it to everyone!

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am shelving this along with non-fiction because it easily could be shelved in the tree section of the non-fiction. This is a great example of how a really, really good picture book can teach and entertain at the same time. Beautifully done with simple, well rhyming, rhythmic text on the left page and lovely full page illustrations. The entire text is at the end of the book, and you can see that it is an entire poem, that could be read even without the illustration.

I want to add a few comments on the physical book. There is no paper jacket, and I fear that the textured white boards are going to damage easily and won't clean well. And the last few pages, including the full text page and some facts about trees, are in a foldout, another thing that does not do well in library purchases. But this is a wonderful book, and I hope that it gets the appreciation it deserves.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and short. My mom received a copy as a gift and because the cover looks stunning, I had to read it. And I was not disappointed.

The book simply follows a little seed that grows into a big tree. The illustrations that go along with the little story were stunning. Perfect for little kids to learn a bit about how trees grow and what kind of creatures live in/near it.

It’s not a book that you must read, but if you happen to find it, you will not be disappointed.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prachtig prentenboek over een zaadje dat uitgroeit tot een boom.
‘Hoe is het mogelijk dat iets zo klein, het begin van zo’n grote boom kan zijn?’
Prachtige opzet van het boek; op de linker bladzijde tekst van vier zinnen, op de rechter bladzijde een bijpassende, eenvoudige illustratie die de korte tekst ondersteunt.
Een zaadje zo klein, is toch al zo belangrijk voor het leven eromheen. Voor alle dieren die gebruik maken van de boom. Mooi gedaan!

[Josie Panidou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book explaining the life cycle of a tree in a very lovely way. The illustrations are more powerful than the words and there's a lot of opportunity to dig deeper and talk about the wildlife in the pictures and why trees are so important.

[SarahEmily1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant pictures and lovely rhymes throughout. I also liked the facts included at the end

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these illustrations. Bonus points for having owls

[Dielleina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and simple, rhyming text that scans really well for reading aloud to young children. It's hard to find the perfect nonfiction book for storytime, but this fits the bill. My nature-freak sister will love it.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poem about how a tree grows from one seed. The poem takes the reader through the life cycle to full grown tree.. It also includes the animals who live in and around the tree to sustain life.
Lovely realistic illustrations support the text.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, simple, clear description of how a tiny seed can grow into a giant tree. The language is poetic yet clear. The artwork is spare, but detailed and stunning. It would work for a wide age-range.

[Sonja Gieren · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌲🌱Rezensionsexemplar🌱🌲
(unbezahlte Werbung)
-Annette betz /Ueberreuter Verlag -

🌲🍃🌱Aus klein wird groß🌱🍃🌲
-Wie aus einem winzigen Samenkorn ein mächtiger Baum wächst-

Autorin: Laura Knowles
Übersetzer: Bernd Stratthaus
Illustratorin: Jennie Webber
Verlag: Annette betz
Preis: 16,95€, Gebundenes Buch
Seiten: 42 Seiten
ISBN: 9783219118094
Alter: ab 4 Jahren
Erscheinungsdatum: 13. September 2019

5 Von 5 Sternen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃
Inhaltsangabe:
Entnommen von: www.ueberreuter.de
Ein besonderes Naturbilderbuch: der Lebenszyklus eines Baumes in wundervollen Reimen erzählt
🍃
Im Laufe der Jahreszeiten und Jahrzehnte wächst ein winziger Samen zu einem Keimling, einem kleinen Baum und schließlich zu einem stattlichen Ahorn heran. Währenddessen besuchen ihn die unterschiedlichsten Tiere und finden zwischen seinen Wurzeln oder in seiner Krone ein Zuhause.
Mit aufwendig kolorierten Radierungen hat Jennie Webber fantastische Bilder erschaffen, die wundervoll mit dem poetischen Text von Laura Knowles zusammenwirken. Als Grenzgänger zwischen erzählerischem und Sachbilderbuch weckt »Aus klein wird groß« die Freude an der Natur und dem Entdecken.
🍃
Mehrfach ausgezeichnet und ein ideales Geschenk dank wertiger Sonderausstattung: Panorama-Ausklappseite und Goldfolie.
🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃🌲🌱🍃
Weitere Informationen:
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Hallo ihr Süßen💕
Bei diesem Bilderbuch aus dem Annette Betz Verlag, wusste ich eigentlich nicht so genau was mich erwarten würde. Ich habe mich im Vorfeld nicht über das Buch erkundigt und lediglich den Klappentext gelesen und das atemberaubende edle Cover betrachtet! Was mich dann aber im Inneren erwartet hat, hat mich zum Teil echt sprachlos gemacht und es kamen nur noch laute wie "oh" und "ahhh" aus mir heraus, denn dieses Buch ist der wahnsinn! So ein edles Bilderbuch habe ich noch nie gesehen, dabei ist es recht schlicht gestaltet und doch einfach nur grandios. Denn es ist das Buch eines ganzen Lebens, eines Zykluses der niemals enden wird und einer Erschaffung etwas unglaublichen. Denn es ist ein Bilderbuch über das Leben selbst! Dieses immer wiederkehrende Zyklus wird hier anhand eines kleinen unscheinbaren Samen beschrieben, der zu einem riesigen und prächtigen Baum heran wächst! Es ist eine Geschichte über das Leben, die Jahreszeiten und der Schöpfung. Es ist anhand eines Traumhaft schönen Gedichtes von Laura Knowles geschrieben und Illustriert worden. Original Titel des Gedichtes lautet "It Starts with a Seed", was nichts anders heißt als es startet mit einem Samen oder wie der Titel des Buches es sehr schön sagt "Aus Klein wird Groß!". Es ist ein Traumhaft schönes Gedicht und wurde mit den Illustrationen von Jennie Webber ergänzt, diese wurden in einer ganz aussergewöhnlichen und aufwendigen Druck und Zeichen Technik erschaffen und erwecken das Buch einfach zum Leben. Einem Leben das niemals enden wird. Denn aus etwas ganz winzigen wird etwas ganz großes entstehen! Traumhaft! Ganz lieben Gruß Sonja/Shaaniel

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is the absolutely lovely It Starts With A Seed, written by Laura Knowles and illustrated by Jennie Webber, the gorgeous and informative tale of a seed growing into a mighty tree.

A “helicopter” sycamore seed flutters down to the ground, and here our story begins. As the illustrations show the seed taking root, growing shoots then branches then leaves and bark, the rhyming text describes each stage of the new tree’s life cycle in poetic verse. At last, a mighty sycamore has grown, providing shelter to a plethora of woodland animals. Finally, as the tree grows and disperses seeds of its own, the story of a seed begins again.

What a positively charming book! While the seed-to-tree story has certainly been done before, the combined effort put into this quietly majestic version makes it a standout. The text flows beautifully, giving the plot a weighty yet soothing feel, like a cozy blanket. The pen-and-ink illustrations are finely detailed in a realistic style reminiscent of nature guidebooks, and bring the tree, its features and its inhabitants to fascinating life. Even the quality of the paper and binding fit the tone of the book, which will leave little readers appreciating the full life lived by every tree. The length was perfect, and JJ and I both loved it. Absolutely Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

ummary
Take a journey through the seasons and years as we follow the 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. 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.

Notes
Laura Knowles has a background in children's publishing and is the author of It Starts with a Seed and Once Upon a Jungle . Her love of natural history, words and art have drawn her to work on books about animals and nature.

Jennie Webber is a London-based visual artist and printmaker. Her etchings and drawings celebrate the diversity and complexity of nature, reflecting her incurable curiosity for the world. Themes of conservation underpin all her work; the idea being that if people are amazed by the natural world, then they will be less likely to destroy it.

HCPL Juv Nonfiction 582.16 Kno

Subject: Trees -- Life cycles -- Juvenile literature.
Trees -- Ecology -- Juvenile literature.
Trees -- Juvenile literature.

[Andrew Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really beautiful Key Stage 1 picture book shows the story of a sycamore tree from its origins as a seed floating like a helicopter in the air, to being planted in the ground, growing into a sapling and then a mature plant in itself bearing seeds to start the whole process over again. Along the way, the tree provides a home and habitat for all kinds of animals and birds, and goes through the changing seasons from spring to autumn to winter and back again. Perhaps the most attractive aspect of the book is that every picture is drawn separately with enormous detail - I originally wondered incorrectly if one picture had been copied/adapted into others - and you can plot the events of previous pictures in later ones and see how they change over time. A very memorable and attractive presentation of nature that hopefully might last long in children's memories and enable them to transfer new-found knowledge into real-life encounters with nature around their school, home and local environment. The only practical problem would be that it takes so long for trees to grow that children planting them would have grown up too soon to appreciate the results of their work!

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowles, Laura It Starts with a Seed Illustrated by Jennie Webber PICTURE BOOK Words and Pictures, 2017. $18.95 Content: G.

This book follows the life of a tree from the time the seed lands on the ground until it is full grown and it’s seeds are blowing in the wind to start other trees. The tree is shown during the fall and the spring and the poem explains how the tree is alive. The tree is also described as a home for all sorts of insects and animals.

This is written as a poem and would make a fantastic read aloud. The illustrations are simple and beautiful, complementing the words. The only setback for a library might be the fact that the last page pulls out to show the leaf blowing in the wind, and I’m not sure how those types of pages do when used over and over again. There are facts about the sycamore tree at the end of the book.

EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Kate Everett · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the front cover alone this book appeals to my love of water colours and botany and the inside did not disappoint either. It provides an excellent and age appropriate verbal and visual description of the life cycle of a Sycamore tree; from the gold end papers to the beautiful illustrations throughout and the sheer amount of detail and information contained within, all wrapped up with the sweetest poem and welcome addition of some more challenging and interesting vocab such as 'yearning' and 'arboreal'.

I love the way in which the tree grows with each turn of the page, the open space at the beginning of the story gradually decreasing as the tree begins to grow, literally pushing out of the borders until it finally bursts into a full double page. The end pages are a botanical study and are very informative. The Sycamore tree will appeal to many young children who may well already be familiar with and fascinated by its helicopter seeds.

This book would be the perfect accompaniment to a class topic on trees, their life cycle, seasons and also the types and sheer number of living creatures for which a tree can support life. Each page encourages discussion and my daughter and I loved reading and looking through this together - definitely one I will be buying and will be reading many times!

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations: Wow! I was so impressed with the level of detail and scientific accuracy that this book achieve while maintaining the beauty and wonder of the natural world. The artwork was the star for me in this book.

Words: The narrative of a how a tree grows could be quite straightforward and primarily educational. And it is to some extent in this book. However, the text emphasizes the role the tree plays in the larger ecosystem which I think is added depth. There is no plot in a traditional, narrative sense, but it informs and inspires with wonder earning it top marks in this nature lover's collection.

**I'm a PhD student in Eng Lit who will become a mom in 1 month and I'm reviewing books based on the criteria I know for books, not based on how my kids react to them. I may come back and edit reviews to reflect the opinion of child audiences for whom these books were intended**

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bright and beautiful pictures but, I have to admit, I sometimes love muted and earthly ones even more and that is what this book contains. The style and colors of the illustrations give this book a classic feel.

In this book we get to see the story of a seed, from its beginning until old and grown tall. Through simple and fairly sparse text and beautiful illustrations, we learn not only about the tree but also about all the little critters which take shelter in the tree's roots, truck, and branches.

I think this would make a good read-aloud for small K-3rd grade classes but, because of the details in some of the pictures, would actually work best with just one little naturalist sitting next to you or on your lap.

A note to libraries that may want to purchase this, the book ends with a fold-out page that is three pages long. I love these for personal books but I know they have a tendency to get torn when part of library collections.

[Sarah Coles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully simplistic. I love the minimalistic format and that way that questioning is used, posed in a child like manner. The illustrations are minimal and the colour tones have a calming effect. The rhyming, again, is simple, but can be emphasised to give real effect. The story introduces children to some more complex, scientific language and ideas, which means that it is great as a cross-curricular text between Literacy and Knowledge of the World. Overall, I would say that this text is brilliant for encouraging active learning. For example, if I were to use this book in a classroom, I would get the children outside, looking at trees and collecting leaves and thinking about the seasons. Perhaps, if photographs were taken, the children could make their own comparisons of trees in the school grounds.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Knowles has done so well here is capture the beauty of something we often don’t think about and portrayed it in a lovely poem accompanied by amazing illustrations. Sycamore seeds to me have always been ‘helicopters’ and throughout my whole life, watching them twirl down from the trees has always been so fun. We all know how a tree grows but to see what that sycamore seed becomes in what feels like a sped up, but still slow motion process gives a different perspective in a way. I also love the fact that it’s actually more than just growing a tree, it’s the start of a whole new world for other wildlife too; bunnies, owls, wild-flowers and even mushrooms.

The poem itself, both with the pictures and on it’s own, is full of great language choices and natural imagery that you only have to step outside to see. I would also totally frame some of the illustrations if I could. Incredible.

[Amy T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m being a little generous with my rating as it’s more of a 3 or 3.5 star level book. The reason I upped it to 4 is because the concept and illustrations are darling, full of charm and love, thought and care. This has the potential to be a remarkable book, possibly even a Caldecott contender, but the rhyming style fell apart and got clunky towards the end. The book also needed to be longer to adequately reflect the gradual growth from seed to tree. This would not only do justice to an actual tree’s growing process but it would also provide the opportunity to see more of the endearing illustration work. With this said, I would still purchase this book as the overall product is beautifully made with high quality paper, inviting cover wrap, and, again, overall concept and illustrations.

[Alyssa Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Because of an Acorn" by Laura Knowles is a story that follows the life cycle of a Sycamore tree. It provides the reader with pictures of the growth of the Sycamore tree and all of the life that surrounds it helping it grow and the life that depends on the tree. The pictures in the story start off small and simplistic, getting gradually larger, more colorful, and more complex and the story progresses and the Sycamore tree grows. I think that children would love the page in the book that unfolds and stretches as the wind carries the sycamore tree leaves. This is a must read when teaching children about tree life cycles!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books just feel (or smell) like they will be perfectly done. This beautiful gift from Laura Knowles and Jennie Webber is as magical as I had hope it to be. For all teachers, parents, and grandparents who love the gifts of our natural world and want to share those gifts with children, this book will plant seeds in your heart.

The ending of the book gives details about the type of tree and some cool facts that are not at all the heart of the story, but will appeal to those learners who simply must know more. The fold out makes the book a bit less durable, but the magic it adds to the reading of the story is too perfect to change.

[Maris Pederson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this picture book is a nonfiction picture book about the steps of how a seed becomes a tree and what a tree goes through in its cycle of life I would consider this book in the poetry genre. I would consider this in the poetry genre because that is the aspect that keeps the children/students engaged. It kind of reminds me of a nursery rhyme. I would recommend this book to either preschool age or kindergarten age children because beyond that it is too simple to read to upper age kids. This book would be good to use in a classroom setting in a unit where you are teaching students about the stages of life in or in a science unit in the way seeds grow into something more.