About the Holiday
Dreamed up by a professor at Columbia University in 2012, today’s holiday is not for the sleepy but for those wide awake to all the possibilities in life. It’s a time for adults and kids to really think about their hopes and dreams and plan how to achieve them. So sit down with a group of friends or by yourself and let your imagination soar – don’t let the day or opportunities pass you by!
Miss Maple’s Seeds
By Eliza Wheeler
Late in the summer, Miss Maple hurries to prepare for some very special guests. She has searched all summer for “orphan seeds that got lost during the spring planting,” and now bluebirds are carrying baskets full of these little pods so full of potential to her home. Once they arrive she “learns each seed by heart.” There are poppy, wild rice, maple, water lily, pine, impatiens, apple raspberry, sunflower, acorn, pea, fern seeds, and as many more as make up our world.
Image copyright Eliza Wheeler, courtesy of Nancy Paulson Books, Penguin Books
As she lovingly tends to each one, she whispers to them, “Take care, my little ones, for the world is big and you are small.” Miss Maple takes her little charges on field trips and shows them the world they will inhabit—muddy soil along riverbanks, grassy fields, and thickly populated forests. She cautions them about “weedy characters” who can show up even in a “bustling garden.”
At night Miss Maple snuggles each seed into a comfortable bed and reads to them by the light of fireflies. During the winter Miss Maple entertains other guests—woodland creatures who gather in her maple tree home to share food, stories, and songs. With the spring come rains and new lessons that teach the seeds how to burrow into the ground.
Image copyright Eliza Wheeler, courtesy of Nancy Paulson Books, Penguin Books
In May Miss Maple knows it’s time for her little ones to “find roots of their own.” She sends them out into the world, knowing that she has prepared them well for what they will become. Her seeds say goodbye and sail off to begin their futures, leaving Miss Maple alone. But soon another summer day comes, and Miss Maple sets off to gather more orphan seeds, because “the world is big and they are small.”
Eliza Wheeler’s Miss Maple’s Seeds is a lovely metaphor for the nurturing relationship between children and their parents or caregivers. At once comforting and liberating, Wheeler’s sweet tribute reveals the hopes and dreams adults have for each child they raise and finally let go to bloom into what they are meant to be.
Image copyright Eliza Wheeler, courtesy of Nancy Paulson Books, Penguin Books
Wheeler’s beautiful language floats as quietly and unhurried as a leaf on a gentle breeze, and her luminous artwork is breathtaking in its fully realized details of the greater world Miss Maple’s seeds and all of us inhabit. Each season is gorgeously rendered in soft blues, roses, browns, and yellows, and Wheeler imbues each little seed with personality without anthropomorphism. The reader may well wish they could be friends with these future beauties and with Miss Maple as well.
Miss Maple’s Seeds would be a wonderful gift for high school graduates, teachers, and anyone who loves taking care of children. It’s timeless message also makes it a perfect choice for quiet reading times or bedtime and a welcome addition to anyone’s bookshelf.
Ages 3 – 7, all ages
Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Group, 2013 | ISBN 978-0399257926
Discover the world of Eliza Wheeler‘s books and art on her website! Download an activity sheet for Miss Maple’s Seeds here!
While I take a few personal days this month, I am reposting earlier reviews updated with new links and interior art.
World Dream Day Activity
Hopes and Dreams Flower Pot
Ideas, hopes, and dreams are like seeds, sprouting and growing into fruition with a bit of attention and care. With today’s craft you can create a flower pot of your own design. Then fill it with “dream seeds” of your favorite flower or plant. As you tend to the plant and it grows, tend to your own dreams and watch them grow as you achieve your desires.
Supplies
- Terra cotta pot in any size
- Acrylic multi-surface paint in various colors
- Flower seeds
- Soil
Directions
- Paint your terra cotta pot—be creative!
- Let paint dry
- Fill pot with soil
- Plant flower seeds
Picture Book Review
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