The Lotus Seed

by Sherry Garland

Book Overview

When she is forced to leave Vietnam, a young girl brings a lotus seed with her to America in remembrance of her homeland. "Exquisite artwork fuses with a compelling narrative--a concise endnote places... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152494650
• ISBN13: 9780152494650
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.8" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

The Lotus Seed

This is an excellent book for teaching reading. It is one of those books you can call a "real book" It was written with children in mind. The illustrations are beautifully done and very naturally help the young reader create meaning.

Gentle and Lovingly Written

The pictures are lovely and the story is simple, yet eloquent. My own daughter was born whilst I was living oversees. I like to choose books that have a universal (mind expanding) appeal, or that tell a unique story from a far away land, or teach us about tradition. I would recommend this to anyone with small children that want to forego the tradtional fairy tale night time reads.

What a beautiful book!

I can't get over how beautiful this book is. I can't wait to share it with my Vietnamese students and those who are war refugees. I would like to see if they can relate to the story.

Simple, Yet Great Story!

This story is easy for young children to understand and is good enough for them to ask for repeat readings, again and again. It contains a few factors that make for a great childrens book. It's relatively short, the illustrations are exceptional, it's easy to understand and it's a compelling story.Follow the life of Ba, a young Veitnamese girl, who collects a lotus seed from the imperial garden of her emperor to serve as a momento of a time in her childhood. She takes the seed with her through her tumultous life, as she grows, and moves to a new country, and to a new life. The seed seems to serve as a symbol of her past and her endurance.

Wonderfully sentimental.

An exceptional story with outstanding illustration. A girl wanting something to remember the Emperor by takes a seed from a lotus pod from the Imperial Garden. Throughout all of the trials and changes in her life she cherishes that seed until one day it is taken and planted by her grandson. Finally it grows to be beautiful and strong, "It is the flower of life and hope, no matter how ugly the mud or how long the seed lies dormant, the bloom will be beautiful. It is the flower of my country." A superb book that looks at families and Vietnamese culture. (explained further in author's note)