Avid gardener and prolific author of gardening articles and books, Normandeau shares her knowledge of seeds and plant growth as author of this Orca Footprints book, a 2023 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Citing the climate crisis and issues of food security, Normandeau explains the importance of protecting and preserving seeds for future generations. Information on various types of seeds and their origins, pollination, reproduction, and growth are included. The value of seeds, historically, culturally, and politically, is explained, inclusive of protective measures that are in place to ensure seed quality. Human and nature-based threats to seed and plant health are explored. Students developing research skills and inquiring into the interconnection between humans and plants will garner much from the text.

Bold, italicized fonts are used to highlight key terms. Descriptive captions accompanying photographs, “Sow Deeper” sidebars, and “Fact” boxes provide further details and extensions to information presented in the main body of text.

Other End Matter: Acknowledgements, resources (print, online, video), glossary, teacher’s resource
Images: Colour photographs, B&W photographs
Bibliography: No
Index: Yes

Evaluator: Jennifer W., Literacy Educator And Administrator, BC Books for Schools

Sheryl Normandeau is the co-author of the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series and author of The Little Prairie Book of Berries. A life-long gardener, she holds a Prairie Horticulture Certificate and a Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate and is a freelance writer specializing in gardening writing with hundreds of articles published. She is a regular contributor The Gardener for Canadian Climates, The Prairie Garden Annual, Herb Quarterly, and many more. She lives in Calgary.

Sheryl Normandeau's profile page

• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standard Selection

“Author and master gardener Sheryl Normandeau… emphasizes the importance of saving and conserving seeds for the future in order to sustain healthy life on Earth. Highly Recommended.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“The latest volume in the well-regarded Orca Footprints series presents a broad array of information about seeds…Exploring seeds more broadly than most children’s books on the topic, this volume encourages readers to collect, plant, and share seeds—a small, yet powerful resource.”

Booklist

“A wealth of information…Normandeau conversationally provides readers with amazing facts and ways to utilize what they learned, including steps everyone can take to save seeds. Readers will be left empowered to help protect seeds. This book could be useful in an elementary science class or botany unit.”

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)