Plant the Tiny Seed: A Springtime Book For Kids – An Interactive Picture Book About Nature and Gardens for Children

by Christie Matheson

How do you make a garden grow? In this companion to Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star, you will see how tiny seeds bloom into beautiful flowers.

Follows the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a zinnia in a garden full of buzzing bees, curious hummingbirds, and colorful butterflies. Children engage with the book as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail.

And for curious young nature lovers, a page of facts about seeds, flowers, and the insects and animals featured in the book is included at the end.

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

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christie Matheson is the author and illustrator of several award-winning picture books, including Tap the Magic Tree, Plant the Tiny Seed, and A Mischief of Mice, and the author of the middle grade novels Shelter and Select. Her picture books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She loves looking for owls in the forest, skiing in snowstorms, coaching soccer, reading mysteries, running and hiking and swimming with her kids, and painting and photographing things she sees in nature. She wrote her first book for children when she was seven, but that one hasn’t been published yet.

Reviews

[Wendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Touch the Brightest Star but we enjoyed Plant the Tiny Seed so much more! These books are simple but i think it's great how they engage kids (and parents). They make story time a little more fun than it already is.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so cute and so much fun! I love that it's interactive using imagination instead of screens/technology as the child makes the garden grow. It is perfect for a laptime snuggle read-aloud. Perhaps five stars is a tad generous but I just think for the right age at the right time this book will be truly magical. I wish I had found it when my kids were just a tad younger but my four year old was still pretty enchanted with it.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

From seed to flower to hummingbird and butterfly to pollinator, this book is a great starter for all young naturalists and gardeners.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to her other books, but lacking something...?

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/3/2024 - I loved how interactive this book was for my daughter! Pressing on the seeds to plant them, wiggling fingers to water the seeds, clapping to bring out the sun. It was a lot of fun for the both of us!

[Tonya Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text to teach (Kindergartens)
Learning Objective: Students will be able to identify the process of growth and development from a seed to a plant.
This book is a good source of helping students to identify how seeds grow and develop into plants with the help of soil, water, sunshine, and carbon dioxide.
During science class, explain to the students that all plants/vegetables start as a seed and that all seeds have life in them, and they need energy and food to form a plant. The activity, I will have each student start the process of growing a Lima bean in a milk carton to understand the process of growth and development from a seed to a plant.

[Gary Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This interactive picture book about how nature turns seeds into flowers is perfect for reading aloud to groups or individuals. The simple text and appealing pictures leave plenty of space for reader involvement as they reinforce a child’s understanding of nature while also providing room for wonder.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book for spring. It is a great read aloud for young children because it invites them to participate with the words. I saw a review that simply said, "You don't need apps for interactivity". I love this idea!

[Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect. I love that it's short enough for any age group while also be interactive and engaging for kids who are reading better than others.

[Dolores · Rating 5 out of 5]

How have I missed this book?! Wow! My new favorite! Read it this morning at storytime and the kids absolutely loved it! If you want a great book that teaches young children about planting, growing and taking care of flowers, this is it!

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and interactive book perfect for the spring or when you are planting seeds. This book would probably be best in a small setting for ideal interactivity with the book.

[Spencer Blackmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Plant the Tiny Seed" by Christie Matheson is an interactive story that allows movement and imagination on each page. The book teaches the basics about planting seeds and helping them grow into plants. Children are encouraged to clap for sun, tap the clouds for rain, and more as they turn each page, they are shown new and important elements of nature. The art was bright with color but rarely took up much of the page allowing the child to focus on a specific picture. It incorporates various elements of teaching moments, such as counting and colors that children can practice.

This book felt very comfortable and fun as I read it. I enjoyed being able to interact with the book! I loved books like this when I was little where I felt like I was helping to create the story. Additionally, I felt that it was very informative in a way that makes gardening, an teaching tool that includes science, math, language, and more, fun.

I gave this book 4 stars because its engaging and includes important nature related topics that are very useful for personal reading or as a classroom addition.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the same vein as Tap the Magic Tree, an interactive book which breaks the fourth wall, asking readers to push the seed into the dirt, gently, rub the leaves, blow the seeds around the page. I liked the addition of the plant life cycle in this book, and the art is colorful and lively for little readers. If you like meta-fiction, this is a good addition.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and interactive! has the kids plant the seed, water them, clap their hands, etc. Might be a little tricky because some of the commands have you interact with the book directly (ie: rub the sun!). I bet we could still make it work just find for storytime, though

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herve Tullet does interactive books best. This is probably a good book to read with a child in your lap.

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! This is the perfect spring book ! It includes information about gardening !
Love this author!

[Hillary Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

interactive picture book to make plants grow

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple text, but kids will enjoy the interactive aspect of this book, helping to "grow" the "magic seeds."

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star returns with another interactive picture book that is a companion to the first two. The child first plants the seeds by pressing them into the ground. They wiggle their fingers to water them. Then comes sunshine and rain. A hungry snail has to be hurried on its way. And all the while the plants are growing and growing. Then come the flowers, bright zinnias of purple, orange and red. The flowers fade and soon there are new seeds to be scattered.

This book shows the cycle from seed to plant to flower to seed in a simple and very approachable way. While it won’t work well for large groups, smaller groups of children or single children will love the interactive component and the feeling that they are gardening along with the book. The book incorporates plenty of other nature as well with snails, bees, birds and butterflies on the page. There is also lots for parents and children to talk about, making the book even more interactive.

Matheson’s illustrations are bright and simple. She keeps the plants in the same spot on each page, so the weather and creatures provide movement and changes. Deep brown soil richly frames the bottom of the pages and most of them have a clear white as a background that lets the simple illustrations pop.

A great way to explore the life cycle of plants, this picture book is simple and friendly enough for toddlers to enjoy. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Madelaine O'Neil]

This book was fun because it was interactive. If I was just reading it to myself I would have just flipped through the pages without interacting, but I was watching a read aloud since I can't actually get a copy of the book, and it was nice to watch the speaker interact as if there was a child reading along. I think younger children would really like interacting with book and "helping the flowers grow." The words are also fun because they rhyme, and that often gets the attention of children. Even though it was a simple and short book, a child will also learn about how flowers grow, that they need lots of sunshine and rain, and how bees use the flowers as well. I would only read this book outloud to a small group of children, because it would be more fun if every child could interact with the book, so a smaller group would work better. Since it is an easy reader, it would probably just be better for a kid to read on their own, but it would be a fun book to have in the classroom.

[Tatiana Crichton]

This book was fun because it was interactive. If I was just reading it to myself I would have just flipped through the pages without interacting, but I was watching a read aloud since I can't actually get a copy of the book, and it was nice to watch the speaker interact as if there was a child reading along. I think younger children would really like interacting with book and "helping the flowers grow." The words are also fun because they rhyme, and that often gets the attention of children. Even though it was a simple and short book, a child will also learn about how flowers grow, that they need lots of sunshine and rain, and how bees use the flowers as well. I would only read this book outloud to a small group of children, because it would be more fun if every child could interact with the book, so a smaller group would work better. Since it is an easy reader, it would probably just be better for a kid to read on their own, but it would be a fun book to have in the classroom.

[Katie Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plant the Tiny Seed is a book about gardening and taking care of plants. The book has the reader interact with the pages and help plant the seeds, warm the sun and water the soil. This book is great for children who can't quite read but understand how to imitate actions. Although this book is simple, it has a lot of helpful gardening tips and teaches kids how plants grow from a tiny seed.

The major theme of this book is growing plants and taking care of a garden.

I loved how this book included the process of growing flowers and had the readers 'help' take care of the purple seed. I think this book is a great introduction to gardening and almost a mini science lesson of photosynthesis for youngsters.

This book will make kids feel like they've accomplished something and make them excited for gardening! Fun and interactive read for a young audience.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great interactive picture book that encourages young children to touch objects on the page and perform hand movements (ex: clapping, wiggling their fingers) to help plants grow. This would make a good participatory book for a garden-themed storytime. It would be easy to adapt some of the movements for a group (ex: "Press [the seed] down and count to three" could become "Count to three while I press the seed down"). And the text is simple enough to keep a large crowd's attention from wandering. The seeds and some of the smaller objects on the page might be difficult to make out from a distance, but for the most part the illustrations pop against the plain white background.

[Kalynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book that works to make the interactive process of reading a bit more interactive, in a "Press Here" sort of way. It would make for a great read aloud, and a good discussion to address understandings and misconceptions. You could ask, after the "clap to bring out the sun again", if that is indeed what makes the sun come out...but I am not completely sure the age for the book and the age for the question is a great match-up...but then again, why not. Curiosity and knowledge knows no age limit or boundary.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorable. It's very interactive, but I don't think it'll be good to read to a whole class of preschoolers. You would have to paraphrase or change the actions since not every kid would be able to literally tap the flower or cloud in the book. Great for one-on-one reading though! The illustrations are great and to the point. I like the ladybug throughout the book and the section on how to grow zinnias at the end of the story. Lots of great information about how to grow them! I love it.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another instant hit in Matheson’s series of books. I love this one even more than “Tree”/“Star” because it’s also informative (there’s a page in the back with gardening tips) and something kids can actually get out there and do! We’ve planted zinnias before, but my kids are looking forward to doing so again after reading this book.
The illustrations are bright and cheery, and we loved the different creatures that visited throughout the pages.

[Sushie · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the team that brought us Tap the Magic Tree comes a similar book about flowers!

Age: babies+
Plot: starts with planting seeds and goes all the way until the Zinnias bloom and scatter more of their own seeds, a-seasonal
Themes: plants, flowers, bugs, gardening
Length: Medium
Wordiness: Low
Illustrations: cute

[Susan Eubank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept. Was hoping for better illustrations, particularly of seeing and spreading the seed. The snail part was fanciful as well. I had expected to see some plants eaten. It could have been a real winner if it was only more true to nature. It's hard to say whether I would recommend it for a botanic garden library. There are so few books that engage young children with plants with delight rather than a didactic display. Do I say it's o.k. to lead children astray? Probably not.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

My very own opinion only:
I say plant a real seed instead! Indoors or outdoors, so right now is fine!
I appreciate that there are instructions about easy-to-grow zinnias in the back, but they don't say why to cut the purple flower (the pix show another bud coming later on the same stem, is this accurate??)
Maybe this would work for the very youngest children, to see if they're ready to actually grow something?

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tiny seed is a scientific picture book about a tiny seed and the aggressive process she goes through to become a beautiful flower. He explains and answers many questions that students might have. For example, plants produce many seeds so that enough of them will grow and ensure the survival of their species. I loved how the author describes each cycle and how the cycle starts again. Students can use this book as a reference while they plan a seed as a project.