Seedfolks
by Paul Fleischman
Published: 1997
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Format: Paperback (102 pages)
Source: Library
A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead.
Thirteen very different voices and perspectives—old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful—tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.
This very short novel is a beautiful story about what it means to be a community and how a community comes from having something in common – even if it’s as small as a garden. Each chapter has a different character and a different point of view about this community garden which made it feel more like a short story collection instead of a novel. I enjoyed reading it in that format since it gave me a chance to see the garden in so many unique and interesting ways. The cast of diverse and interesting characters was delightful. One of my favorite characters was the old lady who kept drinking a tea made from flowers and her doctors told her not to. She outlived all those doctors and would say their names like a “chapter in Genesis.” I just love that!
When we discussed this book in book club, we wondered who the main character was since it was told from so many points of view. I liked my friends idea that the garden was the main character since it changed and grew the most. I also liked where the term “seedfolks” came from. One of the characters talks about her ancestors who were the first black family in Colorado and she thought of them as her “seedfolk” since they planted their roots there for her. This was a cute story about community and how we have more in common than we think.
Content Rating: Mild. It was a clean read and appropriate for a young middle grade audience.
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About Paul Fleischman
Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood.
Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation.
In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
This sounds great. Your book club reads some fun books. I’m going to start stealing some if your titles for the book club I attend.