Seedfolks - Softcover

Fleischman, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064472078 ISBN 13: 9780064472074

Publisher: HarperTrophy, 2004

Synopsis

ALA Best Book for Young Adults ∙ School Library Journal Best Book ∙ Publishers Weekly Best Book ∙ IRA/CBC Children's Choice ∙ NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts

A Vietnamese girl plants six lima beans in a Cleveland vacant lot. Looking down on the immigrant-filled neighborhood, a Romanian woman watches suspiciously. A school janitor gets involved, then a Guatemalan family. Then muscle-bound Curtis, trying to win back Lateesha. Pregnant Maricela. Amir from India. A sense of community sprouts and spreads. 

Newbery-winning author Paul Fleischman uses thirteen speakers to bring to life a community garden's founding and first year. The book's short length, diverse cast, and suitability for adults as well as children have led it to be used in countless one-book reads in schools and in cities across the country.

Seedfolks has been drawn upon to teach tolerance, read in ESL classes, promoted by urban gardeners, and performed in schools and on stages from South Africa to Broadway.

The book's many tributaries—from the author's immigrant grandfather to his adoption of two brothers from Mexico—are detailed in his forthcoming memoir, No Map, Great Trip: A Young Writer's Road to Page One.

"The size of this slim volume belies the profound message of hope it contains."  —Christian Science Monitor

And don’t miss Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, the Newbery Medal-winning poetry collection!

About this title

Review:

Sometimes, even in the middle of ugliness and neglect, a little bit of beauty will bloom. Award-winning writer Paul Fleischman dazzles us with this truth in Seedfolks--a slim novel that bursts with hope. Wasting not a single word, Fleischman unfolds a story of a blighted neighborhood transformed when a young girl plants a few lima beans in an abandoned lot. Slowly, one by one, neighbors are touched and stirred to action as they see tendrils poke through the dirt. Hispanics, Haitians, Koreans, young, and old begin to turn the littered lot into a garden for the whole community. A gift for hearts of all ages, this gentle, timeless story will delight anyone in need of a sprig of inspiration.

From the Back Cover:

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

School Library Journal Best Book

Publishers Weekly Best Book

IRA/CBC Children's Choice

NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts

 

Used with one-book programs in:

Allen, TX

Appleton, WI

Arlington, MA

Attleboro, MA

Berwyn, IL

Boca Raton, FL

Edgewater, IL

Farmington, NM

Geneva, NY

Hillside, IL

Lake Villa, IL

Menomonie, WI

Nantucket, MA

Natick, MA

Newburgh, NY

Racine, WI

Saginaw, MI

Somerville, MA

Springville, UT

St. Louis Park, MN

Sun Prairie, WI

Tampa, FL

Upland, CA

Watsonville, CA

Winchester, MA

the state of Vermont

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTrophy
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0064472078
• ISBN 13: 9780064472074
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 70
• Illustrator: Pedersen Judy