the Dandelion Seed

This book actually received a Benjamin Franklin Award by the Publisher's Marketing Association. Written by Joseph Anthony, and Cris Arbo, this story tells a scientific take of a dandelion seed and it;s journey through seasons. The theme of this story could also relate to life and how people grow and change, but not to worry because in the end things have a way of working out ( or at least, we hope so). I liked how the story expressed the feelings of the dandelion seed because it makes the text more flexible to the life story, while still explaining what happens when a seed is planted by nature, and the changes it will endure in it's lifetime. There were also themes of helping, giving and taking all in a communal sense. It would be a wonderful story to introduce the concept of photosynthesis, and how life cycles reoccur.

This book could be fit for 1st through 3rd grade learners, in a Science pre- text or in a comprehension lesson. Before I would ask the students what they know about life cycles on earth, and have them draw a picture to display their knowledge. After writing the book, they could come up with another life cycle of either a plant or an animal on earth, and we could culminate the activity by making a book of life cycles to develop a respect for all living things in this world.