Saturday, July 17, 2010

Seedfolks (MG)


Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman. 1997. HarperCollins. 80 pages.

I stood before our family altar. It was dawn.

Seedfolks is an interesting little novel. The focus isn't on any one character--not even a handful of characters--no, the focus is on a community, on a garden. Each chapter is narrated by a different member of the community, an individual that has taken an interest in the garden. The first narrator is Kim. The garden is her idea. Though I don't think she could have foreseen just how big the garden would become, how many people would invest their time and energy into making this vacant lot into a garden, a real garden full of vibrant, growing, thriving plants.

Readers meet characters of all ages, all ethnicities, both genders. Each chapter, each vignette, is short. But just because these entries are short doesn't mean that they lack heart and soul. While I can't say I loved all the characters equally, I came to care for many of them. I liked seeing how the garden changed the community. How sharing a place brought people--brought strangers--together in a way that most would have thought impossible.

I liked this one.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

5 comments:

Beth S. said...

I read this one recently and loved it.

chrisa511 said...

Oh yay, you read it :D Glad you liked it Becky! I hope some people see your review and decide to read this one!! Have you read other children's/young adult and middle grade books centered around gardens? I figured you'd be a good person to ask! I'd love to read some more.

Becky said...

Chris, there is, of course, The Secret Garden.

But the one I love, love, love the most--though it is a flower garden--is Mandy by Julie Edwards (aka Julie Andrews).

I'd also recommend Squashed by Joan Bauer--the heroine in this one grows pumpkins.

There's also Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy.

chrisa511 said...

Thanks Becky :D Just got Mandy AND Squashed from Paperback Swap!!

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

I loved this one. I was expecting a very simple kids book or something and it was so much more than that. I loved the idea of people getting over stereotypes and working together on a garden.