Seedfolks

by Paul Fleischman

Book Overview

ALA Best Book for Young Adults ∙ School Library Journal Best Book ∙ Publishers Weekly Best Book ∙ IRA/CBC Children's Choice ∙ NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts

A Vietnamese girl plants six lima beans in a Cleveland vacant lot. Looking down on the immigrant-filled neighborhood, a Romanian woman watches suspiciously. A school janitor gets involved, then...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0064472078
• ISBN13: 9780064472074
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Harperteen
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Ameer K. Reviw On Seedfolks

I think "Seedfolks" is a good book because it is fun to read and it has alot of action.Another reason why I think "Seedfolks" is a good book because I think the book once you read it.I thought it was a boring book but when I read it,it was way better than I thought.

Touching, insightful, profoundly hopeful...

I read this outloud to my fourth-grade class a few years ago, and it was a wonderful experience. The book was absolutely appropriate for 10-12 year olds-- especially in a group or discussion format. (Some of the subtle issues might be lost to young readers reading on their own.) This book is a terrific introduction to issues of diversity and the importance of difference in the world. My class was an all-white upper-middle class group, and it was eye-opening for them without being overwhelming, heavy-handed, or too challenging. This book defines hope, and is a necessary part of a curriculum for this alone. Also good for discussions of change, feelings of ambiguity, class-issues, etc.

Life is Made More Beautiful by Simple Gestures...

The diversity of the world is represented by the very real and honest characters who live near the vacant, trash-filled lot that soon becomes a mecca of collaboration, peace, and beauty in this novel. There are 13 chapters to this book, each narrated in the first person by a different character who somehow finds some answer to his/her life's needs through the transformation of a simple garden. You will appreciate the honesty of each character, from the son who sees his father become a greedy liar to the man who understands that sometimes we are responsible for our own segregation. You will love seeing the emotional growth in a Korean woman who is recouperating from a life of tragedy, and your heart will be touched by Curtis who is trying to make amends for his past decisions. What is most impressive is that Fleischman is able to tell this delightful tale in such a way that the reader feels as if they're in on a secret--as if we know how the lives of the characters connect in a way that they do not understand themselves. If you like this clever novel, you will also enjoy Paul Fleischman's Whirligig, which has a similar affect on the reader. I recommend this book to young readers (6th grade+) as well as adults.

A moving story of urban life

Paul Fleischman's novel "Seedfolks" is only 69 pages long, but the author packs a lot of emotional power into this story. "Seedfolks" takes place in a troubled urban neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. The story begins when a young Vietnamese-American girl starts a small vegetable garden in a plot of land in a neglected, garbage-filled lot. From this small start, a project begins which transforms the neighborhood.This is a moving story which presents multi-cultural urban life in both its negative and positive aspects. Each chapter is told in the first person by a different member of the community. Thus, by the end of the book we have heard a great diversity of voices: male and female, of many age groups, and of many different ethnic backgrounds.I was really impressed with this book, and recommend it to both younger readers and adults. For an interesting companion text to "Seedfolks," try "O Pioneers!", the classic novel by Willa Cather.

Seedfolks- An Everchangeing Book

The story begins in Cleveland Ohio, on a street called Gibb. Gibb St. was so diverse it was as though you put all the grains of sand on a beach and crammed them onto a pin head. Then, hope for this urban town comes in the form of a garden, and brings the community together, just because of six tiny lima beans. In the beginning of the book we find the neighborhood divided and separate. There's high crime, homelessness, disease, poverty. and pollution. The people live like rats in a dump, and often come and go. "It's like a cheap hotel, you leave as soon as you get enough money."- Ana Gibb street was polluted so bad, that it wasn't suitable for human inhabitation. Cleveland was a town for the immigrants, with no real industry, no hope, and no real future. But, then came a girl named Kim. One cold, musty day a girl named Kim planted six lima beans in a vacant lot filled with garbage, little did she know that those beans would become an inspiration for the community. After the seeds matured, people began to notice them among the garbage, and suddenly a glimmer of hope shone in their hearts. They all started planting their own seeds such as beans, lettuce, flowers, and tomatoes. Through the garden people began to take their dull tapestries of fate and make the colors brighter, and the patterns more intricate, and complicated. People began to work together yet, still some diversity remained. " First came the fences, then the "Keep Out" signs. And then finally the barbed wire, "Paradise" was turning back into Cleveland again." -Sam Although the diversity still remained, it was still a little better than Cleveland, little did these people know that when they started their gardens, they would forever cross their strings of fate. After the people of Gibb Street began to get over their diversity, they began to become friends. As their friendship bloomed, so did the lives of the people. They learned to love, care, and be friends once again. Some of the people who had fights with their fellow gardeners before to resolve their conflicts and realized they all had been blind. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you then" - Polish Lady to Amir The garden gave people more faith and because of their faith people like Sae Young found their way out of their little microcosms, and came back to the land of the living. Others, like Marcella realized that their problems in life, might not be problems, but blessings in disguise. Because of the garden their was a renewal of faith, there for making the urban life for the characters in "Seedfolks" more decent. The garden made life worth living for everyone in Seedfolks. It made a impact with all people who came into contact with it. It shows that is we can all find something in common with each other, we can get past our pre justices, and all get along. During the beginning of the book the community was separated, and divided, then it began to come together in the middle, and in the end the community was much more t