In Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a girl plants a kiss and after patience, frustration and hope, reaps the rewards in the form of a long, sparkly flowering vine.

On the surface it doesn't sound like much, but the choice of words, the rhythmic repetition and Peter H. Reynold's delightful illustrations make this something special. The large amount of white space and the limited vocabulary make this book ideal for beginning readers.

My daughter was immediately drawn to the book both for its ti More...

One day a little girl, Little Miss, plants a kiss. She does everything she needs to do, giving it water, love and sunshine. But this kiss doesn't sprout right away. She waits and waits, sleeping by it through the night. Then, suddenly, it finally sprouts!

I think this has to be one of the cutest, sweetest, touching, loving children's books I have ever read. The vast, important, and even heavy message is conveyed in simple words; the illustrations blow me away with every turn of the page. I honest More...

When Little Miss plants a kiss in the ground, she patiently--and sometimes not so patiently--waits for it to come up. When it does, she doesn't listen to the others who tell her to keep what blooms to herself. Instead, she shares it with everyone, and by the time she gets back, that little kiss has increased by leaps and bounds. The moral of the story seems to be that sharing your love with others not only helps them but it also helps you. The book contains lovely sentiments and very cool yellow More...

Usually I might say that any book Peter H. Reynolds illustates becomes a Peter H. Reynolds book, but in this case, don't miss the simple verse driven by simple one-word phrases offered by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (she gave us THE OKAY BOOK a couple of years ago).

Sparkles on the page bring the whole of this book about a little girl who plants a kiss and lovingly watches it grow, lovingly brings it to harvest, and loving shares it with the community around her to life.

You won't want to miss adding th More...

~Gorgeous illustrations for read-aloud. The story is told through the illustrations more so than the words.

~Creative way to write! I can see Donalyn Miller using this book. Because the illustrations do such a great job of moving the story, the words and sentences are almost like a caption to the pictures.

~It's a great example of illustrated poetry for a poetry unit. Because there is little dialogue, an emergent reader would have little trouble reading this book and practicing phonemic tricks to More...

Adapted from the review published first at http://www.perogiesandgyoza.com/2012/...


Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Chopsticks, The Wonder Book) and Peter H Reynolds (Ish, Judy Moody) capture the community spirit of gardening in Plant a Kiss. Little Miss doesn't plant food which nourishes the body, but a kiss, which nourishes the spirit and the community.

Rosenthal's rosey-cheeked protagonist just oozes good will. She is in perpertual motion, even when she is in anticipation mode. Little Miss is always look More...

It takes real talent to tell such a sweet story in only 86 words. Yup - I counted them. Kids often take idioms like this literally. It's lovely to see one depicted in a picture book. I picked this up at the library and just saw it on a Scholastic Book order form. Buying two copies. I also love the illustrations by Peter Reynolds (illustrator of the Judy Moody series).

I love how Amy Krouse Rosenthal looks at the world and this book was just simple and uplifting and Peter H. Reynolds illustrations were well matched. How do you draw bliss? Reynolds did it well and it's even tactile! I think one of my favorite parts is that Little Miss had to wait for the kiss to sprout - that it took a little time seemed to make it all the more special.

Cute story! Very nice to read aloud or listen to. My daughter's (U.U.) Sunday School teacher read it to the class. The kids (preschool and K, and all girls that particular day) enjoyed it. They giggled at the very idea that you could "plant" a kiss! Last week they planted seeds in Dixie cups so it was perfect timing. The pictures are fun, and the message is positive.

Amy Krouse Roenthal and Peter Reynolds are the perfect team. They are both super positive and often focus on kindness. This will be hit with kindergarten and first grade teachers.

From the dedication page:

"To all of you." -A.K.R.

-"To Kazuyo Watanabe, founder of the Asian Children's Care League--who plants seeds of hope around the world." -P.H.R.

A young girl plants a kiss, cares for it, and watches it sprout. What will she do with it now?

Lovely illustrations are softly drawn and colored which adds to the warm fuzzy tone of the story. The glittery textured sprouted kiss is fun and very appealing to young readers. It is refreshing to find a "pretty" book that has a real message for children.

Extra star for real SPARKLES inside. Simple and sweet: a girl plants a kiss, waits for it to sprout, and spreads it around until she's filled with joy herself. I love Reynolds' work - genius use of white space and expressive characters rendered in a few seemingly effortless strokes. He and Krouse Rosenthal are a perfect match.

What a simple, but powerful inspiring story. This book is a great book to teach young children about kindness and values. This book was well written for young readers and the illustrations are beautiful as well.I especially enjoy the idea of children sharing their creations and or love for something with everyone else.

This is a sweet little book filled with a short, rhyming narrative and whimsical illustrations that have a lovely tactile feel and sparkly colors. Each page has just a couple of words, but the book flows smoothly and the book just begs for children to touch the sparkles. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

This is a sweet and simple book about sharing the love. I love that her kisses are an actual object that can be seen and given to her friends. It can teach kids about spreading their love to everyone, and it can also teach them about planting! The simple pictures are precious and I think kids would love this book.

I just love Amy Krouse Rosenthal! She's one of my favorite authors - right up there with Cynthia Rylant. Her books are unfailingly positive and hopeful without being preachy and irritating. It think this one will be great to use with a character lesson on attitude. We reap what we sow, so why not plant kisses?

Perfect for spring and Valentine’s Day, this book celebrates the way that love can grow. A little girl plants a kiss in the ground using a shovel and watering can. Then she gives it sun, water and attention. For awhile she doubts if it is going to grow into anything, but then there is a sprout of glittery yellow and pink emerging from the ground. Others gather around and she decides to share it, she hands out glowing yellow and pink wisps to everyone, even though others try to warn her that it i More...

I will always think that this is just the sweetest book. The illustrations bring it to life. It would be cute to read during valentines day, but I also think a teach could make and argument yo read it during a lesson on growing plans or sharing. I will use this in any classroom in someway.

Little miss plants a kiss, and when it finally sprouts (after sun, water, and lots of waiting), she shares it with her friends - from one kiss, endless bliss! Sweet, simple story made up of rhyming words (doubt, pout, sprout, shout!) with Reynolds' gorgeous art. Great for beginning readers.

This book was so cute. I loved it. I think it would be great for the kids to do some sort of craft with this book. They could draw a picture to either show what they would plant if they could plant anything, or tell a story about what they would do if they could plant a kiss.

Very cute and very effective at capturing a child's impatience and excitement at growing a plant from a seed. Except in this case the plant is a kiss. The literally glittery kiss will be a lot of fun for readers. Great book for themes of sharing and abundance.

Sparse, evocative text paired with Reynolds' beautiful illustrations combine for a charming story. Great for using to teach rhyming words, sequencing and even growing cycles! Would be a worthwhile addition to an elementary teacher's mentor text library.

Clever book in Rosenthal's minimal style reminding us in well chosen rhyming words about the power of love. A young girl literally plants a kiss and spreads what grows. Illustrated by Peter Reynolds making a great little hope filled volume.

What happens when you substitute a kiss for a seed? A story about the pleasures of giving love freely. And it, just like the previous sentence, can be read in a heartwarming or twisted manner, making it all the more appealing for every age.

This little book was delightful. The story is lovely and the illustrations are simple and cute... One of the few books with glitter in it that didn't shower me in the stuff, I could even run my fingers over it without them coming away with specks. I think this is great for the little kids, either by themselves or with mum and dad.

I love love love this book! This is a really fun book about a little girl who plants a kiss like she would a flower seed. She waters it and watches it bloom and then decides she can't keep it to herself and has to share! So fun!

Picture Book 38
Absolutely LOVED this adorable little book about a girl who literally plants a kiss to share with everyone. So adorable! And there were sparkly illustrations on every page which made the story even more sweet!

Lean but lively text is perfectly paced, rhymed, and illustrated. The magic sparkles that bloomed from the planted kiss are consistently embedded with tactile reflective bits which are bound to be a hit with young ones.

Surprise find on the library shelf! It fits wonderfully with the garden theme. Plant a Kiss would also go well with Kevin Henkes' garden book.


Themes: garden, kisses, sharing

Reviewed from a library copy.

From the cover, you can immediately tell Peter Reynolds is the illustrator but don't lose sight of the wonderful text by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. A beautiful, positive message that should be shared with children of all ages.