Seeds (Pebble Plus)

Vijaya K Bodach is a Capstone Press author.

The Plant Parts series consists of six books titled Roots, Seeds, Flowers, Fruits, Stems, and Leaves. The books are aimed at the very earliest readers, from prekindergarten through grade 2. The sentences are very short with a limited vocabulary, in the face of which the factual presentaiton is nonetheless very nicely done. Each page of text is paired with a full-page photo. The photos are beautiful and aptly illustrate the text. Most of the photos use subjects that would be quickly recognized by the reader; for example, Fruits has excellent photos of apples, kiwis, and peaches, while Roots has equally excellent photos of radishes, carrots, and turnips. The photos add to the appeal of the book and probably help early readers recognize words. Each books has a glossary, an index, and a list of further readings. In addition, reference is made to a child-friendly search engine that would be useful to children at the upper edge of the target audience. Used as a set, these books give a good, age-appropriate introduction to plants and would be useful in a classroom setting or in early childhood-oriented garden programs. They are not hands-on science books, but it is easy to imagine activities that would nicely complement their text. --Science Books & Films; Vol. 43, No. 2; Pages 82-83, March 2007

This new series is an excellent introduction to the parts of a plant. Focusing on just one plant part in each book, the opening chapters present clear and simple explanations of why plants need that particular part to grow and flourish. Succeeding chapters discuss the varieties of that plant part found in nature. The full-page photographs beautifully illustrate the books subjects. Whereas most of the definitions in the glossaries are appropriately worded for young children, some younger readers may need additional help. Also included are instructions for finding relevant Internet sites through FactHound, a very attractive, fun, and easy-to-use Web site that suggests pre-selected, age-appropriate Internet resources. In addition to very effectively supporting science standards related to the identification of plant parts, the books features can also be used to teach about the parts of a book. Young readers will certainly enjoy using these attractive, accurate, and carefully designed books. Bibliography. Glossary. Index. Recommended. --Library Media Connection; Vol. 25, No. 7; Page 67, April 2007

Large or small, all seeds grow into amazing plants. This beautiful book has colorful close-up illustrations that depict seeds in a natural state. The floating seeds of a dandelion, the bright green seeds of a peapod, and the crunchy seeds inside a sunflower all deliver an effective message about the importance of seeds. This is a nice big book that is just right for small hands and curious minds. Seeds is written with early readers in mind; it has a carefully controlled vocabulary with short repetitive sentences. The text corresponds to national science standards making Seeds an ideal choice for a first informational text. It contains all the components of a nonfiction text: a table of contents, glossary, titles, highlighted vocabulary, labeled diagrams, and an index. In addition, Internet references send readers to facthound.com with a book ID number to help them locate safe Internet sites related to the book topic. Seeds is just one of the books in this early reader series; other titles highlight different parts of the plant: fruits, stems, leaves, and roots. Each book in this series focuses on one plant part yet culminates in a way that ensures that the reader understands that each plant part is vital and that they must all work together to enable a plant to grow and thrive. --Childrens Literature Comprehensive Database, January 2007