National Trust: I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree: A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year (Poetry Collections)

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March & 10th April – Riddles – Children could create their own class collection of riddles on a topic of their choice or about an element within the topic of the term. I don’t have too many others to compare this book to but so far, this has been my favorite. The design is colorful and cute, the poems curated here are almost all wonderful.

The collection of 366 poems (to make sure leap years are covered too!) contains a really interesting mix of poems from well-known favourites from Christina Rossetti and Walter de la Mare to more modern offerings by Benjamin Zephaniah and Carol Ann Duffy. The book is structured into monthly sections and the poems accompanied by beautiful illustrations that celebrate the beauty of the natural world and changing seasons. Winner of the Waterstones Children’s Gift of the Year 2018, this lavish poetry collection is a perfect present for any age. The winners of the 2019 British Book Design & Production Awards (BBD&PA) were announced last night, and we were absolutely delighted that I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree: A Nature Poem For Every Day Of The Year WON the Children’s Trade 0 to 8 Years award!I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree is a magical book for children and adults to enjoy together. A beautiful and unusual selection of poems boldly illustrated. It is a new favourite!" - Sarah Crossan, Irish Children's Laureate and CILIP Carnegie Medal Winner Below are examples of some of the poems that I particularly liked and how I would use them in a classroom; June – Bed in Summer – Louis Stevenson – This poem could be used to explore other countries around the world and how seasons differ across continents. For example, the children could write a comparative version of the poem using a country such as Australia as focal point. They could investigate how seasons can have different characteristics or occur at alternatives times of year compared to England.

Elke dag van het jaar een gedicht, met de natuur als thema én geschikt voor jong en oud. Meer perfect wordt het niet. Poëzieliefhebbers gaan hierin oude, favoriete, namen tegenkomen en nieuwe stemmen leren kennen. Wie nog niet into poëzie is gaat dit zeker worden. ‘Ik wou dat ik’ staat vol woorden en prenten om te koesteren; in je eentje, samen met het gezin of romantisch met je geliefde. (Ik zie al afgeleide Whatsapp-groepjes ontstaan, of nieuwe klas-rituelen.) And here’s Nosy Crow’s managing director, Kate Wilson, introducing I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree: A real Hymn to nature.’ says Nosy Crow of this outstanding poetry anthology and I wholeheartedly agree. Stylish and distinctive but with real child appeal. A book to share, educate, entertain and to treasure.”

Customer reviews

Throughout the course of the term or year, I would collate all poems that the children had written to create our own class anthology and share in the school library. Overall this is very well thought out and beautiful collection of poetry and illustrations from start to finish, which would be very versatile in a classroom setting. With younger children I would use this book as a read aloud and share a poem a day, discussing the characteristics of each month/ season. With older children I would use the book to support and explore cross-curricular activities, such as those mentioned in the selected poems above. Nature walk – what sort of things did we hear about in the poems? Will we see them when we go outside? What might we find?

November – Anonymous – As with previous poems on key dates this poem could be used to look at the history of ‘bonfire night’ as well as explore the tradition of fireworks. The children could create their own soundscapes and poems, as well as art to describe and express this event. In een wereld die almaar sneller draait, waarin de natuur dag na dag meer kapot gaat en waarin er amper tijd is om adem te halen is dit boek een soort van medicijn, een vorm van therapie. Meditatie en bezinning in één. Koop dit boek, deel gedichten met je naasten en maak alvast jullie deeltje van deze gekke aarde mooier. April – The First of April (extract) – Anonymous – Another fun and upbeat poem that could be used to explore the history of April Fools Day and create their own version of the poem, as well as explore other key dates in history that have become an annual tradition. I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree, named after the first line of Judith Nicholls' poem 'Windsong', is a lavishly illustrated collection of 366 nature poems - one for every day of the year, including leap years. Filled with familiar favourites and new discoveries, written by a wide variety of poets, including -It can equally be dipped into at any time, be read at bedtime, by season or just by choosing an illustration and seeing what that poem is all about! October – Poems about rain by various authors – These poems could be used in geography lessons to explore rain. Children could conduct investigations using their senses to capture the different sounds that are made by rain, as well as documenting how different types of rain feel and look. March – Paper Dragons – Susan Alton Schmeltz – A fun poem in which children can make their own kites and version of the poem and describe the movement of kite in the air. This could also be linked to history and exploring traditional toys throughout the time periods. Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... One of the reasons I like I am The Seed That Grew The Tree is that it sums up Kids of the Wild’s ethos. It is a book for children, all about discovering nature through reading, which creates the learning and growth that leads all of us, children and adults alike, to transformation.