A Seed Is Sleepy

So, those of you who know me know that I am not so into nature or the outdoors. But, this book, A SEED IS SLEEPY by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long makes me want to spend more time outside. With answers to questions like "Who would guess that a seed as small as a freckle would grow into the world's tallest tree?", even I want to learn about seeds. This book is just as amazing as their previous book, AN EGG IS QUIET. The writer and illustrator team has a very effective way of making the topic of seeds so interesting to readers. The text takes on several formats--labels, poetry, etc.

The page layout is very unique and works well. Information is spread across the page but the font and illustrations make it feel more inviting that your typical nonfiction text. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the subheadings that the author uses. Headings such as "A Seed is Adventurous" and "A Seed is Generous" say so much and the information on the page builds on that thought. Words that you don't usually associate with seeds. I can't wait to share this book with my students as part of Writing Workshop and discuss the way the author uses words in interesting ways.

There is so much information in this book that you can read and reread it, noticing more on each page.

This seems like a must-have classroom book no matter which grade or subjects I teach. It is a great model for nonfiction writing and every page is brilliantly written. The author has a way of writing about seeds so that we understand them by helping us understand how and why seeds do what they do.