The Seedling Child

Bornstein, Ruth

ISBN 10: 0152724591 ISBN 13: 9780152724597

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1987

Synopsis

A little girl makes friends and shares her day with a tiny child she finds inside a flower.

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2 Graced with vibrant pastel hues, Bornstein's latest book is filled with the fantasy and adventure of a seedling child. Rainbows on the endcovers are harbingers of the gold found within. From a tiny seed dropped on the ground by a triumverate of birds, a flower grows; inside that flower is a seedling child who is identical to the little girl who plants the seed. Throughout the pages brandished in a lavish array of colors, various animals, a scary monster, and the seedling child picnic, dance, laugh, and love. At day's end, the seedling child crawls back into the flower and departs. Through this first-person narrative, children should sense a personal voyage into a mystical world where ``Once upon a time/ when the world was new,/ when the sun was new,/ when the moon was new,/ inside a flower/ a seedling child grew.'' In a book that is exquisite and enchanting, Bornstein once again shows her ingenuity for fantasy and soothing sentiment. Cathy Woodward, Lima City Schools, Ohio
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this picture-book fantasy, a little girl, "Once upon a time/ when the world was new," plants a seed given to her by three birds. She and her stuffed toys tend the flower, which finally opens to reveal a "seedling child" hidden inside. A miniature version of the little girl herself, the seedling child lies "cold and dark" as death until the little girl breathes her "own warm breath into the tiny creature" and it comes alive. The seedling child climbs out of the flower. She and the little girl have a picnic and make friends with a scary monster, but as the sun sets, the seedling child turns into a bird and flies away. Bornstein's drawings are filled with old-fashioned stuffed toys and lemon-yellow sunlight, but the dreamy text lacks tension, and some children will find the seedling child's birth confusing. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152724591
• ISBN 13: 9780152724597
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 30