Dazzling colorful collage illustrations and simple but dramatic text tell the fascinating story of the life cycle of a flower in terms of the adventures of a tiny seed.

Carried aloft by the autumn wind, the tiny seed, along with other bigger seeds, travels far over the world. The journey is perilous: one of the bigger seeds is burned by the sun; another falls into the ocean; still another is eaten by a bird. Even after those that are left have landed on fertile ground and begun to grow, danger is near: one small plant is stepped on; one little flower is picked; but the tiny seed keeps growing almost unnoticed. Young readers will cheer at the happy outcome of this exciting tale. And they will long remember the heartening message of the tiny seed's steadfast perseverance in the face of many hazards and obstacles until its final joyful success.

 

Eric Carle, whose beautiful picture books are beloved by children all around the world, firmly believes that learning should be fun. In THE TINY SEED he has created a book that will be enjoyed first of all for its striking pictures and exciting story, but which also contains basic natural history information on the seasons and on the life cycle of plants. In addition, it offers a philosophical message of import to small readers. This multifaceted picture book is a modern classic, a book to be read and re-read and treasured for many years to come.

 

From the dust jacket of the 1987 edition