From Seed to Plant
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the The Why-Askers stage.
Why it fits The Why-Askers (for preschoolers whose every page sparks a question)
Gibbons draws exactly how a seed becomes a plant, pollination and all. Pairs perfectly with actually planting something - soil-to-snack learning Montessorians prize. Nonfiction that respects a four-year-old's intelligence.
What makes it special
Gibbons is nonfiction's great craftsman, and this is her form in miniature: one process, fully explained, nothing padded. Her labeled cross-sections — the seed splitting, the root reaching down — teach diagram literacy alongside botany. Pair it with a real bean in a wet paper towel and a week of waiting: slow knowledge, deliberately paced.
From the publisher
Explores the intricate relationship between seeds and the plants which they…
About Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons has written and illustrated more than 170 nonfiction books for children, on subjects from seeds and seasons to fire trucks. She studied graphic design at the University of Illinois and worked on artwork for television shows, including a children's show, before turning to books.
She lives in rural Vermont in a passive solar house built by her husband, Kent Ancliffe, and in 1987 received the Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C./Washington Post Nonfiction Award, given for a body of work that has contributed significantly to nonfiction for children.
Also by this author: Monarch Butterfly · The Reasons for Seasons · Fire! Fire!
More from “How the World Works”
This book is part of The Best Books for Preschoolers: 30 Teacher Picks (The Why-Askers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.