Beansprout - by Sarah Lynne Reul (Hardcover)

About the Book

A child plants a mystery seed for a class project and is disappointed when nothing sprouts, but rescues the remaining seeds and decides to plant them.

Book Synopsis

What happens when you do everything right, but it doesn't work out? When classmates start having success with their seeds, one student's just won't sprout.

A picture book about planting and growing, where grown-ups and kids can talk about disappointment, emotions, and second chances.

It's seed-planting time in Ms. Greene's classroom! One of the kids has big predictions for their mystery seed and does everything just so to make sure it grows. But as all the other seeds start to sprout, theirs . . . doesn't.

So they proclaim they'll never try to grow another seed again! But when they learn the leftover seeds will be thrown out, they start to think about second chances and enlists their classmates to help plant a beautiful garden for all to enjoy.

A fantastic social-emotional learning book that'll inspire conversations about handling disappointment and one's emotions, while leaving readers with an encouraging and hopeful ending.

Review Quotes

A child learns to overcome disappointment and try again.
Ben's class is planting mystery seeds. Each student picks one unidentified seed from a grab bag of possibilities, uses observation to hypothesize what it will grow into, then plants it to test their predictions. Ben picks out a seed and names it Bean. Enchanted by the seed, Ben speculates that Bean might be magic and grow to an enormous size. But even though Ben does everything right, Bean never grows at all. As the other students' plants sprout, Ben navigates feelings of jealousy, blame, and sadness. Classroom teacher Ms. Greene reassures Ben, "Sometimes things don't grow, and we don't know the reason why." Determined never to grow anything again, Ben has a change of heart upon spotting the bag of leftover mystery seeds. To save them from being thrown away, Ben relies on the scientific method and the support of classmates to grow a new garden in Bean's honor. The illustrations feature cutout characters pasted onto abstract watercolor backgrounds, their colors shifting to reflect the mood. The narrative arc and STEM concepts are integrated effectively, with scientific thinking and problem-solving helping to propel the story. Backmatter provides more information about how seeds grow. Ben and Ms. Greene are brown-skinned; the class is diverse.
This layered story plants seeds of learning about nature, the scientific method, and emotional resilience.
--Kirkus Reviews

Narrated by a grade school student, this story by Reul starts at the moment a teacher pours out a bag of 100 mixed seeds--"teeny-tiny dots, long thin sticks," and many more. Before planting, the children draw their seeds and come up with a hypothesis about what each will yield. Covering many sheets of paper, the narrator hypothesizes that their seed will grow luxuriously. But while the other pupils' seeds grow, the narrator's bean doesn't sprout, though they believe "I DID EVERYTHING JUST RIGHT!" Then they notice the rest of the unplanted seeds and pivot to a group project. Cut-out paper figures, portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, are placed against brightly colored backgrounds that give the pages a handmade, childlike feel in a story whose narrative pivot leaves room for readers to make hypotheses of their own.
--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Sarah Lynne Reul is an author/illustrator and award-winning 2D animator who likes science, bright colors, tiny things, drawing on photos and figuring out how things work. She wrote & illustrated The Breaking News, Allie All Along, Pet the Pets, Farm the Farm, NERP!, and Bubbie & Rivka's Best Ever Challah (So Far!). Sarah lives with her husband, two kids, two cats, and one dog.