The Tiny Seed

 Carle, E. (2009). The tiny seed. New York: Little Simon.
 
The story of The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle,  tells a story of the exciting adventure of a "tiny" seed during its life cycle. The "tiny" seed (main character) doesn't fly in the air as high as the other seeds that are pushed by the wind.  In fact, the tiny seed is so small that it is not eaten by a bird. During the winter, the tiny seed is not eaten by the mouse because he is too small to be seen.  During the spring time seeds begin to sprout and grow roots into the dirt.  The "tiny" seed takes a long time to sprout (germinate) and turn into a flower. The other seeds are turning into flowers much quicker and are being picked by humans. The tiny seed slowly turns into a flower and keeps growing, growing, growing!! It becomes a giant flower! Children will enjoy and applaud for the happy ending of the "tiny" seed.  It went on a long journey without being eaten, stepped on, or picked when turning into a flower.  This book has beautiful illustrations that captivate young audiences because of the bright colors, shapes and textures used by author and illustrator Eric Carle.  Eric Carle combines cut paper of different shapes and uses sponges and spatter paints for textures. As a child, I remember thinking that the pictures looked as though they jumped out at you because of the different textures.  The different textures he uses in his art makes his illustrations look 3d. This book is excellent to use for grades K-4.  It is a great read aloud book for younger children in grades K-2.  All grades can use the book to learn more about how seeds travel by wind, water, and animals. 4th grade can also understand how flowers inherit traits from their parent plant. Students can also learn morals from the book.  It brings the idea that even if you are small, you can still do wonderful things! The "tiny" seed was so small but it grew into the most beautiful and big flower. This book could motivate students to try their hardest in order to succeed. A BIG question that I would ask students is...."If you were a seed where would you want to travel to in the world and why."