Ten Seeds

by Ruth Brown

"Ten seeds–one ant. Nine seeds–one pigeon. Eight seeds–one mouse. . . .”
Watch the countdown as seeds and plants disappear until just one beautiful flower remains.

Keep your eyes on the garden as ten seeds are planted, but only one beautiful flower blooms. Thanks to one ant, one mouse, one pigeon, and lots of other creatures (making a total of nine to be exact!), seeds go missing, and plants get eaten. All except the last, which grows a majestic flower and then drops ten seeds so the cycle can begin anew.

In this fresh new take on counting concepts, Ruth Brown uses her lush artwork to showcase the life of a garden as she counts down from ten to one. Ten Seeds , with its light humor and spare text, is a perfect bridge for toddlers and preschoolers ready to step up to more sophisticated stories.

Genres: Picture Books, Counting, Plants, Nature, Childrens, Storytime, Gardening

22 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 2001

About the author

Born in 1941, Ruth Brown is the creator of some of Britain's best loved children's books. She has created a great many picture books for Andersen Press and is highly respected as an author and illustrator.
She attended Bournemouth College of Art, 1957–59; Birmingham College of Art, degree (with first-class honors), 1961; Royal College of Art, M.A., 1964.
She is married to artist Ken Brown and they have two grown-up sons and one grandchild.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations and a clever presentation of nature's cycle, this book follows ten sunflower seeds and the fate that befalls them -- some seeds are eaten by bird or mouse, shoots are nibbled by slugs, etc. etc. until finally one flower actually blooms -- and in turn gives the little child ten seeds to plant anew.

[Adele Last]

I have read this book in French and is a tale for young children who are beginning their development of modern languages. The tale depicts and follows the life-cycle of a sunflower as the book examines how some of the sunflower seeds go missing for various reasons. Evidently this book can be related to literacy and modern languages; in addition it connects to the areas of science and maths as the book counts downwards as the seeds disappear.
One aspect of this book that I enjoy is that even though the book aims to show the life cycle of the flower, it is not a book that is overfilled with text which attempts to explain the process. It simply uses illustrations to convey the information. These illustrations are quite detailed and so it would allow the children to connect to the story as it seems more real. This will help the children remember the life cycle the book focuses on.
One aspect that may affect a teacher’s opinion of the book is that it may be considered a little old fashioned and unlikely to interest children. On the other hand, this possible trait could be overcome simply by relating the characters and the story to real life aspects of the children’s lives.
Due to the minimal amount of the text this book could be suitable for young children in primary schools when they have begun to learn a modern language. For the younger children the teacher would focus on the mathematical elements of the story as it counts downwards. As the children become older the teacher could focus more on the modern languages element.

[Jon Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book about the life cycle of plants and how animals and ourselves interact with them. Each illustration covers two pages the first features ten seeds but we can see one seed is being carried away by an ant. On each subsequent illustration the seeds grow but diminish by one until in the final illustration we see a dead sunflower shedding ten seeds.

This is a fantastic book for nursery children, not only is it great for getting them counting backwards it is also a good introduction to the life cycle of plants and how they interact with nature and as such it is perfect for Spring term when the subject of plants and gardening are introduced. The illustrations take up two whole pages and are detailed and colourful and the lack of text allows for a lot of ad hoc questions from both teachers and children and makes it accessible to EAL children. This also allows opportunities for the children to describe what is happening.

[Kayla Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book called 'Ten Seeds' by Ruth Brown, is an interactive counting book that teaches children about the life cycle of a flower through an interactive counting game. Initially, the book starts with ten seeds, then counts them down sequentially as different environmental factors eventually leave only one flower remaining as the seeds are consumed. Observing the pictures, children can see that the seeds decrease as the story progresses. As a result of this activity, the child will have the opportunity to learn about plants as well as how to count. There is also an opportunity to teach subtraction to the students by adding each of these factors on top of each other. As a result of its educational aspects and also its colorful illustrations, I would consider this to be one of the best books to use as a means of practicing counting with children due to its educational aspects and colorful illustrations. Nodleman states that “ The pictures illustrate the texts - that is, the purport to show us what is meant by the words so that we come to understand the objects and actions the words refer to in terms of the images within it”.(Nodelman, 131). The pictures can still help young learners understand the story even if they don't understand what's actually going on. Especially if they lack the ability to distinguish between seeds and flowers.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, and humorous look at all the things that can happen to seeds trying their best to grow big and strong. (Not a spoiler, but it's amazing any of them survive!)

The author's watercolor illustrations are lovely, and the ending has a delightful "circle of life" feel to it.

[Christina Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

May is learning about Spring. A beautiful illustrated book. It is a counting book that shows realistic ways how seeds and tiny plants disappear. It helped the children realize that plants are fragile and we need to be careful with them. The illustrations are show the plant cycle.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super book showing the development of seeds including their slim likelihood of survival!

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, simple sentences all focused on planting seeds and the turbulence they face to make it.

Very simple and helpful with counting also. Really sweet and a great addition to our nature studies.

[Leslie Zuñiga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro informativo de 5 estrellas. A partir de este se pueden abordar temas como los números hasta el ciclo de la vida. Cortito pero con una tremenda narrativa texto-imagen a doble página ❤️.

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting book that shoes the life cycle of sunflowers and the things that eat or destroy plants.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet book about seeds and plants. Also how insects and animals interact with the seeds.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Brown has very simple stories but they are enhanced by her beautiful, imaginative drawings.

[Kathy Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book for the little ones. Just shows the cycle of life and how all is connected.

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool illustrations. Ten seeds planted, sadly only one seed remains at the end. Very "Parable of the Sower."

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book – Concept

Summary: Ten Seeds captures the delight in planting seeds and watching them grow. It explores how nature often interferes as we watch the seeds and plants become food for other insects and animals or are destroyed by rambunctious ones. Children count backwards from 10 to 1 and analyze the story from the pictures and just a few words.

Literary Critique: (a.) Plot
(b.) Ten Seeds contains a sophisticated plot in spite of its basic words and basic concepts.
(c.) An incredible amount of analysis occurs by the child in order to comprehend the storyline. It contains nicely detailed illustrations depicting the cycle of life as a young child plants seeds and then discovers what happens to them as they grow. We see a mighty ant carrying one away (p. 1), a pigeon picking one out of the ground (p. 2,3), a mouse grabbing another (p. 4,5), and even a slimy slug devouring a seedling (6,7). Each time a seed(ling) is eaten the numbers count backwards. We also see the stages of plant growth from seed to plant to seed again. The words on pages 10 and 11 are simplistic, “Five shoots, one cat,” and yet as you examine the page the rest of the plot is filled in. There is a large, grey cat with bright eyes taking up ¾ of the two page spread. This cat is doing what cats do and is scratching up the dirt, ripping one shoot from the ground. We see the pale shoot flying through the air with a whoosh of dirt. When we turn the page, we are now down to four small plants (p. 13). A few pages later as the flower blooms, we see one bee pollinating the giant sunflower (p. 18, 19) and on the final two pages, a young child, hand extended, catching ten new seeds as this flower dries up and starts the plant cycle all over again.

Curriculum Connection: A perfect companion to the plant cycle, this book teaches young children not only to count backwards but the different stages of the plant’s life. I would also use it with older students to discuss plot and details. Since most of the plot is inferred from the pictures, students can be encouraged to process and analyze the plot and then write their own.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was teaching my preschool class about plant cycles and this book was perfect. The illustrations were accurate and opened the way for questions (what are the worms doing?) and the words were simple and easy to follow. Thoroughly enjoyed the book for education purposes!

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Critique- Picture Book/Counting Book/Concept Book

This is a counting book that starts with ten seeds and what happens to each seed as it comes into contact with animals, people, and objects.

a. Illustrations
b. The illustrations in this story are very detailed, from the roots coming from the seeds to the whiskers on the mouse. The illustrations do a wonderful job of showing the story of these ten seeds, and the how one by one a seed/plant is lost during the development process. It is both a counting and concept book for this reason. Young readers are seeing the stages of plant growth, while also counting their way through the loss of a plant on each page.
c. Seven seedlings and one slug lead to six shoots and one mole, and etc. The reader sees the seeds have now developed roots and is starting to poke out through the soil as one is lost to a slug. As they turn the page, they now see the seedlings are shoots with larger leaves, and one is lost to a mole coming up from under the soil also.

This book would be excellent for a second grade science lesson. I believe that is when they start learning about plant life cycles. This book could be used to help younger readers with counting, or could be used to discuss life cycles, animals, and biology.

[Farzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book I have read in French during my PGCE Modern Language lesson. It is about 10 small seeds 'Dix Petites Graines' that is have been planted in the soil for it to grow. However, throughout the book each time 1 thing happens that causes one seed/plant to go missing or it dies. Each time the seed gets missing, it states how many is left with the images reflecting to this. Not only it shows how many is left it also shows the life cycle of the sunflower growing. The pictures show how the seed transforms in to a sunflower. This book will be a great start for KS1/KS2 when developing their modern languages.

This book not only evidently relates to the literacy and modern languages but also ties very nicely with science and maths; as the development of the sunflower is portrayed it also engages children to learn to count down from 10 - 1. What I loved about the book, is that there are limited words but this then allows the teacher to ask open/end questions to the children, asking them what they think is happening to the sunflower seed. This helps children to think imaginatively and develop their listening and speaking skills.

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This is a concept picture book that explores the growth cycle and how often it's unsuccessful.

Critique: The illustrations in this book are wonderful and add to the text in unexpected ways.

Example: For example, on the page with "Four small plants" the boy accidentally hits a plant with his baseball. In the illustration you can see in the background the boy upset that he's killed one of the plants. Also, in "Eight seeds", we can see the roots growing underground - comparing them to the previous page that also calls them "seeds" but with significantly weaker root system.

Curricular connections: This would be great to use both to count and alongside a growth experiment. Teaching control group and two experimental groups for plant growth. But, rather than using the traditional "light / no light" groups, it would be interesting to see one abused group - as in the book and one that is cared for well to see both how the growth cycle works (in keeping with the concept of the book) and to note how one needs to be gentle and care for plants to make them grow.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book to show how nature can get in the way of itself! A boy plants 10 seeds, but only 1 survives. I read this to our Pre-School Class/Story Time and they love the illustrations too. This was a perfect opportunity to go outside where we had left a "jack-o-lantern" rot over the winter. We have been checking on it's condition periodically over the winter, posting pictures on Facebook to let all know how it's going. The remains are still there, unfortunately there are no seeds to grow up in that spot since I removed and discarded them when we carved the Jack-0'lantern. But yoou never know!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely done little book that combines counting with life cycle of plants. Ten sunflower seeds are planted, but only one finally flowers. A reverse counting book, as each seed succumbs to various hazards (bird, ant, cat, dog, greenfly, and so on). At each stage the plant has grown a little more, following it through from germination to flowering. At the end, the sunflower dies, and ten more seeds drop out.

[Sue Pak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty cute book about how ten seeds are planted. One by one the seeds are eaten away.

This book will be used to teach subtraction by 1's for the younger children.
At the very end of the book, you are left with ten seeds on the ground because the plant grows and drops more seeds. This will be a great book to integrate science and to teach the life cycle of a plant.

Appropriate for grades k-2.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of our summer reading challenges from the library was to read a book about plants or seeds. I chose this one purely because it's the first one that caught my eye as I browsed the shelves while the kids played. It didn't look too exciting from the outside, but I was pleasantly surprised! The illustrations are great! My four-year-old and I had a good discussion about seeds and roots and how plants grow, and my toddler enjoyed the counting aspect, so it's appealing to many ages.

[Melinda Garman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with ten seed, a pigeon eats one, and now there are nine seeds. Animals keep coming over and eating the seven seedlings, six shoots, 2 buds, one flower, until we are left with ten seeds from the flower. Good way to introduce subtraction to your younger Kindergaten and First grade studens. This would also give you the opportunity to talk about the plant life cycle.

[Helen Kumpel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who this book would be for: PreK-2
Activity: Subtraction; Plant life cycle
Reflection:
This is a cute book that lightly touches on both subtraction and the plant life cycle. The students can see the seeds being taken away and then as the seeds grow they produce more seeds. Very cute and very simple!

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this simple book about what happens to ten seeds.10/16/12

Used again for lap time for a spring flower program. 5/13/14

Used in PJ Story Time with a baby and went over fairly well. 5/11/15

Used in Lap Time. 5/12/15

The only other book I was able to read at PJ Story Time.

Used also in story time.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Brown is the author and illustrator for this book.

Great counting book, starts at 10 and counts down to 1. Illustrations depict the life stages of a plant and why not all seeds mature to plants.

Most illustrations depict animals feeds and they are wonderful drawings of pigeons, moles, cats, etc.

[J9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Ruth Brown book that we enjoyed, but it wasn't one of our favorites. I loved the idea of seeds growing into flowers then turning into seeds again. Other than that, and the lesson of counting, there were no other benefits to this book, other than some cute pictures. Not my favorite Ruth Brown, but still educational.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Count to 10, watching the animals in the garden interact with seeds. "Ten seeds, one ant. . .eight seeds, one mouse." Allows a lot of interaction. A good lap book. Could be used successfully with a small group of kids who can touch the book and count.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple story of a young boy and his sunflowers that manages to encompass a whole lot about the life cycle of plants and the many creatures that can call a garden home. A nice choice for young audiences appropriate for Spring, Fall, Garden, Plant, Flower and Harvest themes.