The Dandelion Seed Book

I read this book during an R.E session at UEL and thought it was so lovely I went out and ordered it from Waterstones that afternoon!

The book tells a story of a little dandelion seed who is very happy living on a dandelion with all his family, the wind begins to blow very hard and the seed becomes afraid of the world, he does not want to let go. However, eventually the winds blow him away and off he goes flying into the unknown, the world was bigger than he had ever imagined, and along his journey he sees many things, he discovers that the world can be scary and lonely but also amazing and beautiful.

Eventually the wind drops him back onto the ground and he grows up to become a beautiful big dandelion, he feeds the deer, gives nectar to the bee's and the butterflies, and finally grows seeds of his own. Soon all of his seeds have flown away too, except for one...one seed which won't let go because he is too afraid of the world. The dandelion whispered to the seed not to be afraid, that "the wind and the sun will take care of you. Let go and you will see."

Although the book states that it is aimed at 3-10 year olds I think that absolutely anyone will enjoy it. For younger children there are big beautiful illustrations to look at, and older children can be encouraged to answer questions on how it they think the dandelion seed is feeling at each point, what advice they would give the seed that doesn't want to let go and so on. It could also be used as a resource for learning about nature and plants in science lessons, although I feel personally I would not be using the book to its full potential in this way.
The story is a real statement about the cycle of life and I think children, especially those just starting school (either infants, juniors or secondary) will get a lot of comfort from it, in particular those who are a little shy or nervous.

N.B - When I read the book I was over-taken by a sudden rush of emotion from nowhere (okay, I'll admit, I cried like a baby!) I think it may have been the fact that I could relate it to what we are all doing while we are undertaking our PGCE, it is scary sometimes and can feel lonely, but it is also beautiful and amazing! we are like the dandelion ourselves, making others lives better and teaching, partly from our own experiences, our own dandelion seeds to let go!