The fate of life on Earth falls on the fluffs of two brave little seeds as they leave their mother to find their own place to grow.

Was I prepared to get emotionally invested in two seedlings from the prehistoric times on my New Years Eve afternoon - no, of course not. Did I make weird noises while reading it when crazy things happen - yes, yes I did.

The art in this book goes along wonderfully with the story - it really adds a whole other level to the telling by showing the events, which sometimes you don’t need words for.

I did enjoy the discussion of the entire plant system under our feet. Trees definitely talk to each other. Shoot, the smell of freshly cut grass is the grass telling others around it danger is coming! It’s a crazy unheard world around us.

Overall, this is something I can see myself recommending to loads of people - especially can see this on book lists for Earth Day for sure! ( )

Louise is a sycamore seed in the Cretaceous period, and she dreams of the stars and the moon talking to her, though she can't see anything from her perch. When their mother is threatened by coming fire and dinosaurs fleeing from it, Louise and Merwin are sent out into the world, where they hope to find a safe place to grow.

I really enjoy Selznick's unique mix of text and pencil drawings - it's not quite like a graphic novel, because it's not in one continuous comic story, but trades back and forth between the two media, letting you take in all the details of each. I was intrigued by a story whose main characters were seeds, and seeing the world through their eyes. There's a lot of science included, and reading it as an adult I would nitpick that it wasn't incorporated in the text very subtly, but as a kid I would have been entranced and not cared. The author's note explains where the origins of the story idea came, which was fascinating in and of itself. ( )

I had high hopes for this, since I've loved all of Selznick's other novels (Hugo, Wonderstruck, The Marvels). But I was disappointed in this one. It was very difficult to relate to a story about personified plants. Yes I cared about finding out if the seeds survived. I enjoyed the drawings, as always. And I appreciated that it closed with a W. S. Merwin poem. But that was about all the positives.

The science inserted throughout the story felt like it didn't belong there, or could've been incorporated into the story better. It felt like the science was the point of the story rather than the story itself. And though I enjoyed the illustrations, it seemed there were fewer full page illustrations than there were in Selznick's other books. ( )

Great artist. Good book but not is best. ( )

Okay, I should first say that I'm not particularly good with art. I can't always tell what I'm looking at, especially with pencil/charcoal.

Brian Selznick follows earth. Two seeds live happily with their mother, a Sycamore tree, who has great knowledge. She knows how to pull the water up when needed and consults with the mushrooms (ambassadors) for knowledge. Something tremendous seems to be on the edge of occurence when giants accidentally knock mother down, sending Merwin and Louise away. They must find soil, sun, and water. In their quest, many events occur. As you follow their adventure, you follow the history of the earth. It's a beautiful story about earth's ability to survive and man's relationship with nature. ( )