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Seed to Plant
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.
32 pages, Paperback
Published January 7, 2014
24 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 30, 2022
Read for my toddler's bedtime. Awesome book about plants and how it grows. Love the big words and definitions. Love the comparison between a kid and a plant to help kids remember the parts in the plants.
Another pick from library toddler's time.
Another pick from library toddler's time.
October 25, 2017
1. Awards received: This book has not received any awards.
2. Appropriate grade level(s): This book is appropriate for preschool to grade 1.
3. Summary: The book starts off by introducing what plants are and what their different forms are. The pages include a diagram or labeled photo of some sort, such as labeled photos of different species of plants, labeled diagrams of the parts of a plant, a labeled diagram of how the different parts of how a plant work, etc. Readers are introduced to the ways that plants can be used, such as cotton for clothing, and other plants for homes and paper. It also talks about the necessary steps for a plant to grow and what they need in order to stay alive and grow healthily. Plants are then connected to the topic of flowers by discussing how some plants can grow flowers, how these flowers contain pollen (explains what pollen is), and how bees help distribute the pollen to other flowers so they then can grow seeds. Then it talks a bit about seeds, how they’re different among different types of plants and fruit, and how they travel and help new plants to grow. The book also includes a section with fun facts about different plants. Lastly the book includes a recipe and steps to making your own garden, and a section with close-up pictures of things from the book with hints beneath them. Answers are in the back of the book if readers need help. Amongst the pages are pronunciations of larger, unfamiliar words as well as “Buzz Word” sections that give the definitions of some terms relating to plants.
4. I love how the book connects plants to the reader’s everyday life to broaden understanding and awareness. It states things such as, “Your T-shirt is made from cotton plants” or “Just like you, a plant grows bigger and bigger”, and it asks questions such as, “How many plants did you eat today?” It gets the reader thinking about how essential plants are and how they affect their lives. In the book there is also a piece that compares the different parts of a plant to the reader’s body parts—the arms are the leaves, the body is the stem, and the feet are the roots. I think this is an excellent way for kids to remember the basic parts of a plant, and it could also be made into an activity of some sort that gets the kids moving. I like how the middle of the book includes interesting fun facts about plants, such as how the tallest living tree is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Also, the labeled photos and diagrams are very helpful for readers to connect what they read to literal circumstances.
5. Uses in the classroom:
-Use this book in a science unit about plants—vocabulary words relevant to plants, different species, how they grow, etc.
-Using the recipe and step as the end, the kinds can grow and care for their own plant
-An outdoor activity where the kids find certain species of plants and then label the different parts of them. This could also be turned into a venn diagram exercise to compare and differentiate plants.
2. Appropriate grade level(s): This book is appropriate for preschool to grade 1.
3. Summary: The book starts off by introducing what plants are and what their different forms are. The pages include a diagram or labeled photo of some sort, such as labeled photos of different species of plants, labeled diagrams of the parts of a plant, a labeled diagram of how the different parts of how a plant work, etc. Readers are introduced to the ways that plants can be used, such as cotton for clothing, and other plants for homes and paper. It also talks about the necessary steps for a plant to grow and what they need in order to stay alive and grow healthily. Plants are then connected to the topic of flowers by discussing how some plants can grow flowers, how these flowers contain pollen (explains what pollen is), and how bees help distribute the pollen to other flowers so they then can grow seeds. Then it talks a bit about seeds, how they’re different among different types of plants and fruit, and how they travel and help new plants to grow. The book also includes a section with fun facts about different plants. Lastly the book includes a recipe and steps to making your own garden, and a section with close-up pictures of things from the book with hints beneath them. Answers are in the back of the book if readers need help. Amongst the pages are pronunciations of larger, unfamiliar words as well as “Buzz Word” sections that give the definitions of some terms relating to plants.
4. I love how the book connects plants to the reader’s everyday life to broaden understanding and awareness. It states things such as, “Your T-shirt is made from cotton plants” or “Just like you, a plant grows bigger and bigger”, and it asks questions such as, “How many plants did you eat today?” It gets the reader thinking about how essential plants are and how they affect their lives. In the book there is also a piece that compares the different parts of a plant to the reader’s body parts—the arms are the leaves, the body is the stem, and the feet are the roots. I think this is an excellent way for kids to remember the basic parts of a plant, and it could also be made into an activity of some sort that gets the kids moving. I like how the middle of the book includes interesting fun facts about plants, such as how the tallest living tree is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Also, the labeled photos and diagrams are very helpful for readers to connect what they read to literal circumstances.
5. Uses in the classroom:
-Use this book in a science unit about plants—vocabulary words relevant to plants, different species, how they grow, etc.
-Using the recipe and step as the end, the kinds can grow and care for their own plant
-An outdoor activity where the kids find certain species of plants and then label the different parts of them. This could also be turned into a venn diagram exercise to compare and differentiate plants.
August 3, 2015
Beautiful photographs and an accessible text. Riddles based on puns are included to lighten the content a little. Kid-friendly.
April 20, 2022
Seed to Plant is a National Geographic kids informational book that explains the life cycle of a plant. Throughout the book are diagrams and illustrations that provide young readers with interesting facts about plants, seeds, and flowers. The simple language allows students to understand the process of the plant life cycle. This informational book would be a great addition to Kindergarten to second grade students that are learning about plant life cycles. This book provides text features for students to explore, although the glossary is not a traditional glossary that can be confusing for students when learning about text features. There are fun trivia style questions throughout the book to engage young readers. This book would be a great addition to a science lesson on life cycles or a ELA lesson teaching text features in nonfiction literature.
April 30, 2025
A lot of good facts in this one! Some I didn’t even know before! The little jokes were good too 😆
June 20, 2016
Text Features: Title page, table of contents, headings, photographs, captions, labels, diagram, and text boxes which feature keywords, text boxes which feature questions and answers
Text Structure: Mostly description, but includes sequence in one section which tells how to grow a bean plant
Paired fiction text: And Then It’s Spring
Fogliano, J., & Stead, E. E. (2012). And then it's spring. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
After reading, Seed to Plant, students will have a basic understanding of how a seed grows and what it needs to grow. And Then It’s Spring also describes the process of how a seed grows, but in a way that expresses the feelings a boy has while he waits for the seeds to grow. The story begins when winter has ended and everything is brown. Once the boy plants his seeds, he says, “it is still brown, but a hopeful, very possible sort of brown.” Camp (2010) says pairing a fiction and a nonfiction text which both convey facts will allow students to acquire a base of information which will give them a better understanding of content. By pairing Seed to Plant and And Then It’s Spring, students will be able to gain a conceptual understanding of how a plant grows and how the process might feel to the planter of the seeds.
Strategy Application: One strategy which could be used to teach these two texts is directed reading-thinking activity (Camp, 2010). After reading Seed to Plant to the class, introduce the class to And Then It’s Spring. Start by reading the title to the class and doing a picture walk to spark a discussion about what might happen in the story. Students can use what they learned from Seed to Plant to make predictions about And Then It’s Spring . Write down students’ predictions. Read to the point where the boy first plants the seeds. Pause to confirm any predictions which had already been made and discuss new predictions about how long it will take the seeds to sprout. Continue reading to the page where the boy describes his worry for the seeds. Confirm any existing predictions and discuss further predictions about what could have happened to the seeds. Read to find out what happens. An extension activity after reading will be to plan a bean plant. Students will plant their seeds and then write down a prediction about what will happen first, such as how long it will take for their seed to sprout. Keep each child’s prediction near their plant, so they can later confirm or correct their prediction.
Reference
Camp, D. (2010, February). It takes two: Teaching with twin texts of fact and fiction. The Reading Teacher, 53(5), 400-408.
Text Structure: Mostly description, but includes sequence in one section which tells how to grow a bean plant
Paired fiction text: And Then It’s Spring
Fogliano, J., & Stead, E. E. (2012). And then it's spring. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
After reading, Seed to Plant, students will have a basic understanding of how a seed grows and what it needs to grow. And Then It’s Spring also describes the process of how a seed grows, but in a way that expresses the feelings a boy has while he waits for the seeds to grow. The story begins when winter has ended and everything is brown. Once the boy plants his seeds, he says, “it is still brown, but a hopeful, very possible sort of brown.” Camp (2010) says pairing a fiction and a nonfiction text which both convey facts will allow students to acquire a base of information which will give them a better understanding of content. By pairing Seed to Plant and And Then It’s Spring, students will be able to gain a conceptual understanding of how a plant grows and how the process might feel to the planter of the seeds.
Strategy Application: One strategy which could be used to teach these two texts is directed reading-thinking activity (Camp, 2010). After reading Seed to Plant to the class, introduce the class to And Then It’s Spring. Start by reading the title to the class and doing a picture walk to spark a discussion about what might happen in the story. Students can use what they learned from Seed to Plant to make predictions about And Then It’s Spring . Write down students’ predictions. Read to the point where the boy first plants the seeds. Pause to confirm any predictions which had already been made and discuss new predictions about how long it will take the seeds to sprout. Continue reading to the page where the boy describes his worry for the seeds. Confirm any existing predictions and discuss further predictions about what could have happened to the seeds. Read to find out what happens. An extension activity after reading will be to plan a bean plant. Students will plant their seeds and then write down a prediction about what will happen first, such as how long it will take for their seed to sprout. Keep each child’s prediction near their plant, so they can later confirm or correct their prediction.
Reference
Camp, D. (2010, February). It takes two: Teaching with twin texts of fact and fiction. The Reading Teacher, 53(5), 400-408.
July 10, 2016
This informational, non-fiction text titled National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant written by Kristin Baird Rattini provides children with captivating photographs and accurate information all about seeds, plants, flowers, and trees that are all around them each and everyday. Young readers are taken on a journey starting with seed pollination all the way through plant growth. Young readers also learn what plants need in order to grow and develop, they learn about the plant parts, six fun plant facts, and how to make their own garden. Through this print-rich picture book, children are exposed to various text features such as captions, bolded words, and photograph labels. When reading this non-fiction text, children can browse the table of contents to determine which sections they want to read in order to gain more knowledge on the topics that they are most interested in learning about. I really enjoyed reading this book because the photographs used were bright, colorful, and easy to relate to. Being able to look at the up-close photographs of various aspects of the plant parts helped me make meaningful textual connections. As a result, I was able to make sense of the written text presented that I needed to visually see in order to better understand the content being presented. This was an excellent picture book, appropriate for children ages 5-12 years old. This book is a great example of rich, high quality-literature and I recommend it! Other books I might pair with this book would relate to the topic of plants and seeds. Some other books about these topics may include: From Seed to Plant and Planting a Rainbow. The book, Seed To Plant, by Kristin Baird Rattini could be used as a mentor text for writing about how plants grow, or what plants need in order to thrive and grow. This text could also be used in writer's workshop in order to help children work on sequencing steps- as they discuss the steps one may take to plant their own garden.
December 4, 2016
National Geographic Kids – Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini is a nonfiction picture book intended for readers in grades kindergarten to second grade. This nonfiction book describes the process by which seeds grow into plants, vegetables or flowers. I gave the book a 5-star rating because of the details provided, colorful photographs, the step-by-step instructions about how seeds grow and the layout of the book. The book likened a seed’s growth to the young reader’s growth. It used familiar concepts to help the young reader comprehend the life cycle of seeds. The book also offered details about various plants, vegetables and flowers defining the plant life cycle. Larger words were broken down into syllables for easy pronunciation. The photographs were bright and vibrant sure to catch the eyes of the readers. The book also provided the names of each plant, flower and vegetable listed in caption size. The book began with a table of contents to allow readers to go to a specific location in the book to learn more about a specific topic. Fun facts were listed throughout the book. After the explanation of how seeds grow the book offered step-by-step instructions on how to grow a garden, trivia pages with a word bank and finally a recap some of the words that were defined throughout the book. This book would be a great teaching and exploration tool for teachers and their students.
November 15, 2018
1. Awards: None
2. Grade level: Kindergarten-2nd
3. Summary: Through photographs and text, children are able to learn about seeds, plants, flowers and trees. They will learn what a plant needs to grow, learn parts of the plant and how to make their own garden. When they are finished reading, the students will have a basic understanding of a plant’s life.
4. Review: I enjoyed how this book included many photographs in with the text. Additionally, I think the comparison of parts of a plant to a child’s body helps the students better understand the information. The table of content was also a great addition to teach the students how to look up a certain section.
5. In class use:
a. I would use this book when teaching a plant/seed unit. While I may not read it aloud to the entire class, I would introduce it and then place it in a section with other books about our current topic. It would act as a great supplemental reading for students interested in plants.
b. As a teacher, I could use this book as inspiration for teaching a lesson on plants. I really liked how the author compared a child’s body parts to parts of a plant. To help the students learn this information, I would create a worksheet in which they have to match up the similarly functioning parts.
2. Grade level: Kindergarten-2nd
3. Summary: Through photographs and text, children are able to learn about seeds, plants, flowers and trees. They will learn what a plant needs to grow, learn parts of the plant and how to make their own garden. When they are finished reading, the students will have a basic understanding of a plant’s life.
4. Review: I enjoyed how this book included many photographs in with the text. Additionally, I think the comparison of parts of a plant to a child’s body helps the students better understand the information. The table of content was also a great addition to teach the students how to look up a certain section.
5. In class use:
a. I would use this book when teaching a plant/seed unit. While I may not read it aloud to the entire class, I would introduce it and then place it in a section with other books about our current topic. It would act as a great supplemental reading for students interested in plants.
b. As a teacher, I could use this book as inspiration for teaching a lesson on plants. I really liked how the author compared a child’s body parts to parts of a plant. To help the students learn this information, I would create a worksheet in which they have to match up the similarly functioning parts.
October 9, 2017
Summary:
Seed to Plant is a nonfiction children's book that informs the reader on the process on how a seed becomes a plant. The reader is able to learn about different parts of the plans and see the stages on how a plant grows.
Evaluation
This book provides images and diagrams to show how a seed turns into a plant. This gives the reader a visual on how the process works. This is a good book to incorporate into a science lesson and introduce the topic of how a seed grows to the class.
Teaching Ideas
For a science class, I would introduce the topic to the class by reading a book. There is an experiment where a seed is placed in a bag of water. The observer can watch throughout a period of time where the seed sprouts and starts growing roots to the plant. This experiment would go along perfectly with the book to let students visualize how a seed grows into a plant.
Seed to Plant is a nonfiction children's book that informs the reader on the process on how a seed becomes a plant. The reader is able to learn about different parts of the plans and see the stages on how a plant grows.
Evaluation
This book provides images and diagrams to show how a seed turns into a plant. This gives the reader a visual on how the process works. This is a good book to incorporate into a science lesson and introduce the topic of how a seed grows to the class.
Teaching Ideas
For a science class, I would introduce the topic to the class by reading a book. There is an experiment where a seed is placed in a bag of water. The observer can watch throughout a period of time where the seed sprouts and starts growing roots to the plant. This experiment would go along perfectly with the book to let students visualize how a seed grows into a plant.
April 26, 2019
This book has not received any awards and would be appropriate for children in PreK-1st grade.
The book teaches kids all about plants- how they grow, what they're used for, etc. It talks about flowers and seeds and fruit. There are diagrams to show children the different parts of plants.
This is a really good book to introduce children to plants. I like how it has diagrams, and how it connects the uses of plants to children's lives.
This can be used in a classroom for a plants unit. It can be used to teach them new vocabulary.
The book teaches kids all about plants- how they grow, what they're used for, etc. It talks about flowers and seeds and fruit. There are diagrams to show children the different parts of plants.
This is a really good book to introduce children to plants. I like how it has diagrams, and how it connects the uses of plants to children's lives.
This can be used in a classroom for a plants unit. It can be used to teach them new vocabulary.
February 18, 2015
This provides everything about plants for the beginning reader: great pictures with a large text font, jokes, a quizz and introductions to new words. Do you want to know what plants are used for and how to grow your own? When you're done reading you can link to their website on a computer or smartphone for more to enjoy. Reviewer 6.
December 18, 2018
Seed to Plant
Genre: Informational text
Reading Level: 2.5
Mentor text – oganiztaion: logical sequence of ideas.
This book teaches kids how plants grow from seed to flower.
Classroom integration: This would be a good book to have as a science lesson on plants. This would also work as a good book to teach sequence of events.
Genre: Informational text
Reading Level: 2.5
Mentor text – oganiztaion: logical sequence of ideas.
This book teaches kids how plants grow from seed to flower.
Classroom integration: This would be a good book to have as a science lesson on plants. This would also work as a good book to teach sequence of events.
September 21, 2020
Full of information and photos to help children understand the life cycle of plants. Adore the fact they use a child's own body to help identify simple parts of a flower, like the stem and roots. This has been used for our seed nature study and my kids really engaged with it. Just simple to the point information, what else could you want?
April 22, 2016
Have students pick a topic from the book that they can relate to and have them write about what they know on that topic. They could do a little research on their own and come up with some more fun facts about plants which the book already started.
October 29, 2017
This was well-written and informative book, but it had very little about the plant lifecycle - which I expected to be it's main topic, because of the title! *shrugs* Still a good book if you have a little one interested in plants.
April 10, 2021
Exploring Seeds and How they Grow!
I selected this book to share with young Daisy and Brownie Scouts prior to Spring planting project. Factual information shared on level for young readers. Photographic illustrations are realistic.
I selected this book to share with young Daisy and Brownie Scouts prior to Spring planting project. Factual information shared on level for young readers. Photographic illustrations are realistic.
July 3, 2015
A nice introduction to plants and how plants grow. The photos and illustration are great and put together nicely.
September 7, 2015
Awesome series
April 18, 2020
Pictures and reading level were perfect
Perfect to read to my class and project the book from my phone to the board. My students enjoyed the book. Thank you.
Perfect to read to my class and project the book from my phone to the board. My students enjoyed the book. Thank you.
April 28, 2020
Concise facts, excellent photographs - this is an excellent book for a plant unit. Recommended.
Quarantine 2020 book.
Quarantine 2020 book.
February 11, 2021
Jack loves this book. My little farmer ❤️
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March 25, 2021non fiction book for grades k-2 lexile level 470
August 28, 2021
Excellent intermediate reader with stunning photos. 32 pages, mostly with 3-4 short sentences per page.
May 22, 2022
Seed to Plant is a simple story that discusses what a plant is used for. The story also discusses the parts of the plant, such as roots, stems, and leaves. Discuss how seeds germinate and grows into a plant. Then the story discusses what the plants need and how the plants can be pollinated. This book uses rich vocabulary and could be a re-read by younger grades. Using the book as an introduction to a science unit on growing seeds.
January 27, 2022
This is not what I thought it was, I read it with a different intention but quickly realized what it was so I read it again for my 8 year old. Since we will be working on our garden. For him works as in Introduction. For me "refreshing my memory" + get him interested in learning more to help in the garden. 🤞🏽
Although it's not what I thought it's good tho.
Although it's not what I thought it's good tho.
December 20, 2021
A Level 1 National Geographic Kids book that includes good facts and photos of plants. My four-year-old, as before with books in this series, was excited about the jokes included on some of the pages.
May 13, 2024
Beautiful pictures and great information are in this book. Kristin did a great job at displaying all the information. This non fiction genre is very informative and great for elementary age children. Using this book during instruction in class or just for fun for students.
June 12, 2017
text set
April 3, 2024
Maddie just flies through these and we love the jokes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews