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A Seed in Need: A First Look at the Plant Cycle
A colorful parade of insects follow the progress of a sunflower seed in this first look at the life cycle of a sunflower.
32 pages, Library Binding
First published June 30, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 10, 2012
A Seed in Need - Sam Goodwin
A first look at the plant cycle.
This book is a colourful, fun informative exploration of the full cycle of a plant. The narrative follows the full life of an individual seed and is narrated by two characters, a ladybird and snail.
The text is very easy to follow, each double page details each stage of the cycle, with each single page consisting of a declarative sentence. The dialogue between the snail and the ladybird offers more information to the young reader and supports the main text, with ladybird often asking questions that a child would, such as "what does a seed need I make it grow", and the snail offering the answers. The conversations between the two animals are informative and easy to follow, they are presented in the form of large speech bubbles.
The language used is informative and specific to the topic, yet not too challenging to a young reader, many key words such as "roots", "shoot" and "sew" support the narrative. The specific vocabulary will help contribute to a wide rich vocabulary for the reader. I especially like how there is a useful words section at the end of the texts, which acts as a glossary , further explaining new and challenging words. In addition to a glossary there is a colourful picture of a fully grown plant, with clear labels explaining the different elements of a plant.
I enjoyed this book and I think literature that supports a scientific topic can be very effective learning tool. The subject is presented to a child in a fun, interesting, engaging manner, which reinforces their learning and understanding.
I think that this text would be most suited to a young reader and could be read aloud to a child as young as three, and still be interesting and relevant to a child up to age five.
A first look at the plant cycle.
This book is a colourful, fun informative exploration of the full cycle of a plant. The narrative follows the full life of an individual seed and is narrated by two characters, a ladybird and snail.
The text is very easy to follow, each double page details each stage of the cycle, with each single page consisting of a declarative sentence. The dialogue between the snail and the ladybird offers more information to the young reader and supports the main text, with ladybird often asking questions that a child would, such as "what does a seed need I make it grow", and the snail offering the answers. The conversations between the two animals are informative and easy to follow, they are presented in the form of large speech bubbles.
The language used is informative and specific to the topic, yet not too challenging to a young reader, many key words such as "roots", "shoot" and "sew" support the narrative. The specific vocabulary will help contribute to a wide rich vocabulary for the reader. I especially like how there is a useful words section at the end of the texts, which acts as a glossary , further explaining new and challenging words. In addition to a glossary there is a colourful picture of a fully grown plant, with clear labels explaining the different elements of a plant.
I enjoyed this book and I think literature that supports a scientific topic can be very effective learning tool. The subject is presented to a child in a fun, interesting, engaging manner, which reinforces their learning and understanding.
I think that this text would be most suited to a young reader and could be read aloud to a child as young as three, and still be interesting and relevant to a child up to age five.
April 23, 2025
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. An absolutely amazing work of literature.
November 28, 2013
A Seed in Need is a look at the plant cycle where a ladybird learns how a plant grows, dies and how its seeds are planted again to grow next year. The book is in two parts: there are some simple sentences across the page but there are also detailed dialogue boxes on the pages for the more advanced readers.
The book is colourful and it covers all the important aspects but text may be too high level for younger children as there is no rhyming scheme to keep them engaged.
I recommend this book for upper KS1 and lower KS2. The simpler text would help children who are semi-advanced EAL learners and younger children and the detailed text provides more information for the more advanced children.
The book is colourful and it covers all the important aspects but text may be too high level for younger children as there is no rhyming scheme to keep them engaged.
I recommend this book for upper KS1 and lower KS2. The simpler text would help children who are semi-advanced EAL learners and younger children and the detailed text provides more information for the more advanced children.
March 30, 2026
I was looking for a basic book about seed growth to readaloud to a group of 1st-3rd graders. While this book uses simple language with one sentence per page, the illustrations confuse the narrative. On pg 6 the text says "In spring, rain waters the seed" and it is raining in the illustration, but then on page 7 the text says "The sun warms the soil, and the seed wakes up"... and yet in the illustration it is still raining. Then on page 14, "children" water the plant... even though there is a singular child in the illustration with a watering can. The snail says, "When the weather is dry, plants need to be watered" but just a few pages ago it was raining?
I also have problem with the dialogue bubbles. Too often they felt distracting from the primary text and distracted from the ongoing progression of the seed cycle. For example, on page 16-17 the primary text reads "It's May, and the garden is full of creatures who seek shelter under the plant's leaves." Meanwhile, the dialogue box has a spider saying to a caterpillar with a leaf in its mouth, "Hey, caterpillar! Are the leaves tasty?" OK, so the bugs aren't seeking shelter then. They're eating the plant. Also, it's a perfectly clear day in the illustration - what do the bugs even need shelter from?
It's not a terrible book and the watercolor illustrations are cute, but I just don't think it fulfills its purpose as well as it could- which is to provide an introduction of the seed cycle to little ones.
I also have problem with the dialogue bubbles. Too often they felt distracting from the primary text and distracted from the ongoing progression of the seed cycle. For example, on page 16-17 the primary text reads "It's May, and the garden is full of creatures who seek shelter under the plant's leaves." Meanwhile, the dialogue box has a spider saying to a caterpillar with a leaf in its mouth, "Hey, caterpillar! Are the leaves tasty?" OK, so the bugs aren't seeking shelter then. They're eating the plant. Also, it's a perfectly clear day in the illustration - what do the bugs even need shelter from?
It's not a terrible book and the watercolor illustrations are cute, but I just don't think it fulfills its purpose as well as it could- which is to provide an introduction of the seed cycle to little ones.
May 23, 2020
Excellent book about plant life cycles!
Read
September 27, 2013Follow the life cycle of a sunflower seed in this colorful book.
April 28, 2008
Buku ini buku terjemahan yang bagus sekali!
Tulisannya besar-besar dan gambarnya bagus, berwarna. Mengajarkan anak-anak ilmu sains: mengenal daur hidup dari tanaman. Dari biji sampai menjadi bunga.
Tulisannya besar-besar dan gambarnya bagus, berwarna. Mengajarkan anak-anak ilmu sains: mengenal daur hidup dari tanaman. Dari biji sampai menjadi bunga.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews