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Seed-Babies
Share the excitement of three little children as they discover how beans grow from seeds, then start to wonder how other plants get their start, which leads them to watch closely for new life springing up all around them. Numerous black and white drawings enliven the text. Suitable for ages 6 and up.
88 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1897
55 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Warner Morley
81 books5 followersMargaret Warner Morley was an American educator, biologist, and author of many children's books on nature and biology. She studied at State University of New York at Oswego and Hunter College and continued her biology education at the Armour Institute (now the Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago and at the Woods Hole marine laboratory in Massachusetts. She worked as a teacher and was considered an expert in agriculture and beekeeping. She was most well known for her work as an illustrator, photographer, and author of books on nature.
The North Carolina Museum of History owns a collection of original photographs that Morley donated to the museum in 1914.
The North Carolina Museum of History owns a collection of original photographs that Morley donated to the museum in 1914.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 6, 2020
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. This book is very well-written and I enjoyed it. It didn’t teach me much about seeds, but it would be a good beginning and it’s funny and old-fashioned and enjoyable.
A Favourite Quote: “‘It's as good a reason as any,’ said Ko.
“‘Yes,’ said the almond, ‘that is the way too many people reason, without taking the trouble to find out the real truth about things.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘Do you suppose it would grow?’ asked Jack.
“‘Of course it would,’ said Ko.
“‘How do you know I would?’ asked the melon seed.
“‘Well, wouldn't you?’ asked Ko. He was used to stopping Jack's questions this way when he could not answer them, and had not yet learned the difference between Jack and a logical vegetable.
“‘Yes, I would,’ said the melon. ‘Now answer my question: How do you know I would?’
“‘Because,’ said Ko, confidently, ‘melon seeds generally do.’”
A Favourite Quote: “‘It's as good a reason as any,’ said Ko.
“‘Yes,’ said the almond, ‘that is the way too many people reason, without taking the trouble to find out the real truth about things.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘Do you suppose it would grow?’ asked Jack.
“‘Of course it would,’ said Ko.
“‘How do you know I would?’ asked the melon seed.
“‘Well, wouldn't you?’ asked Ko. He was used to stopping Jack's questions this way when he could not answer them, and had not yet learned the difference between Jack and a logical vegetable.
“‘Yes, I would,’ said the melon. ‘Now answer my question: How do you know I would?’
“‘Because,’ said Ko, confidently, ‘melon seeds generally do.’”
July 20, 2022
A cute little book that gave my children some basic information about seeds and eggs. Morley tries to encourage the reader to go out and discover more information on their own by repeating the phrase, "I'm not going to tell you," but it often seemed like she didn't give much information to begin with. I'm not sure the average child would have access to the seeds and eggs that are required to discover more information and so I wish she had gone into more detail.
June 24, 2017
This is a fantastic little book for introducing younger kids (I read it to my 6yo son) to various "seeds" (eg. beans, regular seeds, eggs, etc.). My son particularly liked the talking bean. :)
August 26, 2022
This book is so fun. I was a little worried that the older English would be tricky for my seven year old to understand but he didn't seem bothered by it at all. I read it out loud during art projects during our homeschool time. We got through it fairly quickly and now I would love to collect the other books by Margaret Warner Morley. Highly recommend!
April 21, 2023
Another tanker for our homeschool, and it is such a bummer because I felt so much promise with this one! However, the wordage did not fit well with our kids. We gave it five chapters, and we all felt like we had just spun in a bunch of circles - lost and confused.
May 19, 2020
Read to Calvin for Kindergarten. He loved it, I really didn't.
May 13, 2021
Read for the Blossom & Root K curriculum.
This is certainly an old book and not very interesting but it does cover seeds and how they grow pretty well.
This is certainly an old book and not very interesting but it does cover seeds and how they grow pretty well.
December 23, 2023
Not all things that are from Charlotte Mason curricula are living books.
July 31, 2024
Stirs up thinking about plants
…But not a life-changing book. We read it for our homeschool kindergarten year. My 6-year old gives Seed Babies three stars.
…But not a life-changing book. We read it for our homeschool kindergarten year. My 6-year old gives Seed Babies three stars.
April 7, 2020
This book encourages children to be observant and inquisitive in nature in a playful story telling way. The author asked questions to stir curiosity but didn’t answer many of them to encourage children to go find the answer. I wish she had gone ahead and answered some of the more difficult questions where we are weren’t always able to observe everything hands on because of lack of availability. However, the kids enjoyed me reading this to them as a read aloud. We grew, observed, and recorded our own bean plant right along with the book.
August 23, 2024
I read this a few years ago with my boys and now I read it with Jubilee. It’s a fun summer read and Jubi is more aware of all the “seed babies” around her 🌱
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews