The Tiny Seed

The Tiny Seed
Written and Illustrated by Eric Carle
Publisher: Little Simon
March, 2009
Grade Level:Pre-K-2
Themes:  Life cycle of a flower and seasons (Science)

Summary: A strong wind carries flower seeds through the land. One by one many seeds are lost, burned by the sun, fallen into the ocean or eaten by a bird. Only one seed survives the long cold winter. Spring comes and the tiny seed begins to sprout. It grows and it grows, but once Autumn comes the flower begins to die and it's seeds are sent into the air and the process starts all over again.

Reflection:This is a great book for teaching about seasons and what happens in each season. Along with that you could talk about how flowers grow and what they need to grow. I also like how there is a story about what happens to the seeds. This makes it fun for the children to guess what is going to happen next. The illustrations are great and the children could mimic them using crumpled up tissue paper.

Pre-Reading: Talk to the class about what happens in each season and make a seasons chart.

Post-Reading: Talk about what happend to each seed, how the flower grew and what the flower needed to grow. Have each child plant a marigold seed in a cup and discuss what that seed needs in order to grow.

About the Author:

Eric Carle was born on June 5, 1929. He is an author and illustrator. He has had many best-selling books. His most famous book. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than 30 languages. Some of his other books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Grouchy Ladybug and The Very Quiet Cricket.