Illustrated by Jennie Webber

In gentle rhyme, It Starts with a Seed evocatively explores the growth of a tiny sycamore seed.

Taking a journey through the seasons and years, we follow the seed as it transforms from a seedling to a sapling, then a young tree, until it becomes a large tree with its branches and roots filling the page. As the tree grows, it is joined by well-loved woodland creatures – squirrels and rabbits, butterflies and owls – who make it their home. Beautiful and evocative, It Starts with a Seed is a factual story that will touch children with its simple but enchanting message of life and growth.

Winner of the inaugural Margaret Mallett Award for Children’s Non-Fiction 2017

Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2018

Longlisted for the AAAS Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books

Nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Award 2018

A 2018 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K012 (National Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council)

“Spare, rhyming text and detailed artwork inform readers about the life cycle of a sycamore tree, from seed to maturity–and its role in the ecosystem…While giving a general idea of how one journey from seed to tree influences an entire ecosystem, the text also emphasizes the wonder of growth–and life–itself. The tone is soothing and reverential. No hype here: understated enchantment.”
– Kirkus Reviews

Translated into: Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish.