A child learns to overcome disappointment and try again.
Ben’s class is planting mystery seeds. Each student picks one unidentified seed from a grab bag of possibilities, uses observation to hypothesize what it will grow into, then plants it to test their predictions. Ben picks out a seed and names it Bean. Enchanted by the seed, Ben speculates that Bean might be magic and grow to an enormous size. But even though Ben does everything right, Bean never grows at all. As the other students’ plants sprout, Ben navigates feelings of jealousy, blame, and sadness. Classroom teacher Ms. Greene reassures Ben, “Sometimes things don’t grow, and we don’t know the reason why.” Determined never to grow anything again, Ben has a change of heart upon spotting the bag of leftover mystery seeds. To save them from being thrown away, Ben relies on the scientific method and the support of classmates to grow a new garden in Bean’s honor. The illustrations feature cutout characters pasted onto abstract watercolor backgrounds, their colors shifting to reflect the mood. The narrative arc and STEM concepts are integrated effectively, with scientific thinking and problem-solving helping to propel the story. Backmatter provides more information about how seeds grow. Ben and Ms. Greene are brown-skinned; the class is diverse.
This layered story plants seeds of learning about nature, the scientific method, and emotional resilience.
—Kirkus Reviews
Narrated by a grade school student, this story by Reul starts at the moment a teacher pours out a bag of 100 mixed seeds—“teeny-tiny dots, long thin sticks,” and many more. Before planting, the children draw their seeds and come up with a hypothesis about what each will yield. Covering many sheets of paper, the narrator hypothesizes that their seed will grow luxuriously. But while the other pupils’ seeds grow, the narrator’s bean doesn’t sprout, though they believe “I DID EVERYTHING JUST RIGHT!” Then they notice the rest of the unplanted seeds and pivot to a group project. Cut-out paper figures, portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, are placed against brightly colored backgrounds that give the pages a handmade, childlike feel in a story whose narrative pivot leaves room for readers to make hypotheses of their own.
—Publishers Weekly
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