Flying onto the scene atop a bright blue bird is Miss Maple. She is returning home to none other than the hollow of an old maple tree. Summer has come to a close and she has completed her search for orphan seeds which were lost in spring.This story has every magical making for a pixie setting. However, I personally find it refreshing that Miss Maple is not a fairy. Rather, she is a figure of a very, very little old lady. She emanates wisdom, warmth, and vibrance with a motherly quality over each seed. She gently scrubs them clean, takes them on field trips to learn all that a good seed should know, and tucks each into adorable miniature beds. All the while, cooing over them: "Take care, my little ones, for the world is big and you are small."This book is a beautiful lesson in nature and its seasons, in the preparation of life, and in selflessness. As springtime approaches, Miss Maple recognizes that the love and guidance she offered now culminates in farewells. She releases each seed to fulfill its destiny, and from afar she whispers over them her final coo, that though the world is big and they are small, "even the grandest of trees once had to grow up from the smallest of seeds."Not only is the lesson itself beautiful, the unique illustrations really tip the scales. With an earthy warmth, Eliza Wheeler adds a depth that only the pictures can convey; my words fail. It is no wonder that she has won the SCBWI Los Angeles International Conference Portfolio Grand Prize . . . now that is a mouthful, and I likely have no need to say more! A seed sized old woman collects seeds and nurtures them to "planting". What a wonderful comparison to the loving parent/child relationship. I loved this book. This book was incredibly warm, not only in its writing/storyline, but in its illustrations as well. I wish this book would have been around when my son was a toddler. It def. would have been in his library, but it will be one that I definitely purchase for my grandchildren, when that time comes.
What do You think about Miss Maple's Seeds (2013)?
Sweet, with truly beautiful illustrations.
—Oswald
