For fans of Amy Rosenthal’s I wish You More and Joe Witek’s In My Heart, Cristiana Valentini’s Stay Little Seed is a moving tale of love and the courage of letting go. “Both children and adult readers will identify with timeless themes, from the joy in comforting familial bonds to the growth that can only happen with independence.” —Booklist Every year when the wind blows, the tree’s seeds sail away to a mysterious place—until one little seed decides to stay. At first, the tree supposes the seed should leave. How else would it grow roots to rise tall and strong? But the tree is also lonely, and the mysterious place is far, far away. Will the seed be safe on its own? Stay, Little Seed celebrates the rhythms of the natural world and shares a gentle message for all of us, no matter our age: Sometimes, by letting go and being brave, we begin life’s greatest adventures.

A little girl receives a package of seeds. Each day she nurtures her seed. She learns through Little Seed all she needs to do to help Little Seed grow and grow. She patiently watches and waits to see what Little Seed will grow up to be. This is a heartwarming story about loving and learning how to plant and cultivate a garden through the eyes of a little girl and her Little Seed. Watch Little Seed bloom and grow into something wonderful, you shall see!

The little seed is on a mission. As he floats through the air and lands in the meadow, he ponders to ask, “What will I grow up to be?”

Text and illustrations relate the growth of a small seed that survives the winter cold to become a beautiful spring flower. On board pages.

"Little Seed is what I want the future of literature to be." —Sam Cohen, author of Sarahland Little Seed is an experimental memoir that braids together the narrative of the author's relationship with her brother and family with a deeply personal field guide to ferns. The chapters move associatively, commenting on each other indirectly and drawing out questions of assimilation, race, class, gender, nature and the general problem of being and knowing. When the author's brother has a psychotic break, the rigid structure of the book itself breaks apart and the protagonist adventures to the cloud forest of Oaxaca in order to truly live: to know the world by experiencing it rather than reading about it or following the direction of others. Some persistent themes throughout the book: What does it mean to be Chinese? What is love and how best to love? What really is a fern?

A little seed is thrilled when her dream about becoming a beautiful red rose comes true.