This seed-themed companion to Rah, Rah, Radishes! and Go, Go, Grapes! proves that healthy eating can be both fun and delicious!What do nuts, beans, grains, and even some spices have in common? They’re all seeds—seeds we can eat! So get ready to greet lentils and limas, take a crack at coconuts and cashews, and say hi to rye and buckwheat. You’ll soon be seeing seeds in a whole new way!This seedy celebration comes complete with an author’s note full of fascinating facts about seeds, including a section about nut allergies and how to help nut-sensitive friends and classmates stay safe and healthy.
April Pulley Sayre was an award-winning children’s book author of over 55 natural history books for children and adults. Her read-aloud nonfiction books, known for their lyricism and scientific precision, have been translated into French, Dutch, Japanese, and Korean. She is best known for pioneering literary ways to immerse young readers in natural events via creative storytelling and unusual perspectives.
1)Twin Text: Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler (2013)
2)I chose Miss Maple’s Seeds for a few reasons. It has beautiful descriptive language and illustrations while it talks about the different ways seeds travel (“Some will be carried by the river and land in soft, muddy soils.”). The underlying message of perseverance is summed up towards the end, “…even the grandest of trees once had to grow up from the smallest of seeds.”
3)Let’s Go Nuts! is unconventional in its nonfiction layout. It really isn’t descriptive as it mostly is just a list of seeds we eat set into rhyming phrases with photographs of the seeds. It would be appropriate for Kindergarten which is where we learn about seeds in our curriculum.
4)I would first tap into students’ prior knowledge about seeds and what things they think we eat that are seeds. This could be done by making a list as a whole group. We would then read Let’s Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat and see if we can add or take away anything from our list. We would read Miss Maple’s Seeds and then discuss how the seeds on our list might travel and what it takes for a seed to grow.
Another fine entry to the author's earlier cheers celebrating veggies and fruits, this one focuses on seeds. Readers are likely to be unaware that nuts, beans, grains, and some spices are all edible seeds. Through a series of visually appealing close-ups of a wide variety of beans, chickpeas, and yummy nuts, the author encourages the consumption and lauding of these delicious foods. Because there are so many seeds photographed and labeled, readers may be curious about trying some of the less familiar ones. Back matter includes additional information on seeds, including why they can't grow inside our stomachs and why they are such good energy sources. Visually appealing and informative while being written in an engaging, pun-filled fashion, this book prompts cheers of delight even while readers are munching on a handful of nuts or savoring a mouthful of beans.
Richie's Picks: LET'S GO NUTS! SEEDS WE EAT by April Pulley Sayre, Beach Lane/Simon and Schuster, August 2013, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-4424-6728-6
"Do you or I or anyone know how oats, peas beans and barley grow" -- Traditional British and American folk song (which I just happened to sing to my grandson today)
"Seeds are power packs of nutrition. They contain a plant embryo -- the beginning of a young plant. But they also contain energy, stored as plant food. This energy will power the young plant until if forms green leaves. (Once it has leaves, a young plant can make food for itself through photosynthesis.) A seed's energy is stored in the form of fats, proteins, and starches. That makes seeds nutritious and tasty. Seeds are also an excellent food because they store well." -- from the author's afterword, "A Few More Handfuls: The Scoop on Seeds"
As with RAH, RAH, RADISHES! and GO, GO, GRAPES!, LET'S GO NUTS! is made up of a bouncy chant and great photographs. And, as with the other two books, it logically brings together a somewhat disparate group of foods into one category.
But while I loved RAH, RAH, RADISHES! and GO, GO, GRAPES!, I love this one even more. Here's why:
For the past thirty-six years I have eaten no animal flesh; and for the past twelve years, I have eaten no animal products at all. There are important ethical and environmental-related issues underlying these conscious changes in my diet.
Yet, though I don't eat meat or eggs or dairy products, I feel healthier for it and I have more than enough energy. Why? Because I eat a lot of seeds.
As we learn in LET'S GO NUTS!, the seeds we eat can be grouped into nuts, beans, grains, and there are also some spices that are derived from seeds. The portion of the author's afterword that I quote (above) is such a perfect explanation of why I can maintain a vegan diet and have the energy that I do. Today, for example, I have eaten wheat, cashew butter, rice and pinto beans. And after I get done with this essay, I'll treat myself to some "ice cream" made from rice which I'll top with some coconut (which, as we learn here, is the world's largest edible nut). That these seeds provide me all the energy I need to live healthy is why many millions of tons of these same seed foods are utilized every day in growing meat animals.
One more reason why I find this book fascinating is that the foods photographed here do not have all the bright colors we find in Sayre's vegetable book and fruit book. There is a lot more subtlety here, calling for a lot closer look.
Think about it: The world grows many times more seeds -- particularly wheat, rice, soybeans, oats, and corn -- than it does vegetables or fruit. That makes this one an important and interesting book.
And no doubt some of you recognize that if we diverted just a fraction of those tons of seed foods that are used in growing meat animals away from that task and, instead, fed them directly to people, then there would be no need for hunger in the world.
This seed-themed companion to Rah, Rah, Radishes! and Go, Go, Grapes! proves that healthy eating can be both fun and delicious!
What do nuts, beans, grains, and even some spices have in common? They’re all seeds—seeds we can eat! So get ready to greet lentils and limas, take a crack at coconuts and cashews, and say hi to rye and buckwheat. You’ll soon be seeing seeds in a whole new way!
This seedy celebration comes complete with an author’s note full of fascinating facts about seeds, including a section about nut allergies and how to help nut-sensitive friends and classmates stay safe and healthy.
The photos were good, everything else not so much. For a book targeted at children it really misses the mark. The child I was tutoring was six years old and he actually said "Miss this book is boring can I get another one".
The text was difficult for children and failed to engage the reader.
I love this book as well as the rest in the series. A creative, lively, and fun way to introduce different and healthy foods. The illustrations are colorful, real, and up close while the text is a fun rhyme.
You will see seeds in an entirely new way through this informative picture book about edible seeds. Sparse rhyming text and photograph illustrations compliment each other nicely in this informative and enjoyable book.
Short, sparsely worded rhyming text on the nature of various food seeds. A fun readaloud accompanied by a short afterward of information on various edible seeds.
I've been on the lookout for engaging informational books, especially on topics other than animals. This one is wonderful with vibrant photographs and simple text. Lots of new learning in this one!
I love books about healthy snacks and eating. This series is great because they can be read like a chant in story time. I like that Sayre includes back matter and also discusses nut allergies.
This book is well made and exciting to look at and to read aloud. I have mixed feelings about the content. The backmatter was excellent. I almost would rather read the backmatter aloud while showing the luscious photos than to read the rhyming text. The rhymes were cute and well-written, but it felt exceptionally juvenile—more like a board book that names nuts and beans. It works very well on that level. I can't see the audience who would benefit from the information sitting still through the text. Conversely, I can't see that much of the backmatter is useful to the ages that would enjoy the rollicking rhymes. A shame really, as this book has so much to offer. Maybe other parents and teachers can make it work.
One of my favorite information picture books in a long while. Did you know peanuts are not nuts, but beans? Maybe everyone else already knew that, but I didn’t. Lots of cool facts about nuts, beans and grains- all seeds that we eat! The bulk of the info is in the last couple pages.
A non-fiction book about nuts, seeds, and spices. But I learned from a song that a coconut is a fruit. Nice real pictures good for teaching young children about food.
The text is a rhyming chant celebrating all different kinds of seeds: nuts, grains, and legumes. Large, clear, colorful photographs grace each page, with the few chant words above or below the photo. This part of the book would be good to share with toddlers and preschool children, showing them the different seed types. The back matter contains the information about the various seed types, and is informative for elementary age children. There is no bibliography in the book, but readers are referred to her website for the bibliography and seed identification. I checked, and sure enough, there was a bibliography of books for children and reference books for adults. There is also a group of photos of seeds in alphabetical order (familiar and not so familiar).
A book with a great beat and uses photographs to illustrate the simple text. I really like the dust jacket book description as well and I read before diving in to the book text. "What do nuts, beans, grains, and even some spices have in common? They're all seeds - seeds we can eat!"
2016 storytime theme: book boogie - nuts 2023 storytime theme: PreK Planters Seeds