Review Detail

This story isn't your normal garden story. It's different and unique, just like the characters in this story. Seedfolks is a story of a rather large group of diverse people from different ethnic backgrounds ages who all happen to be influenced by a old lot turned community garden in the center of Cleveland, Ohio. One day a young girl decides to plant some lima beans in a corner of a junkyard-type lot and not too long after, different people from around the city to start little by little transforming the lot into a real garden.

What is most interesting about this book is how it is written. Every chapter is written from the first-person point of view of another character. Paul Fleischman doesn't repeat any character, and yet through this a cohesive story is able to be told. Each person comes from a different ethnic background, and the ages of each character ranges from elementary to elderly. Some characters become involved with the garden at different times throughout the summer, and they tell their part of their story accordingly.

This story is great because it really opens up the idea that even in a city that is so diverse as Cleveland, where every group tends to keep to their own group, something as special as a garden can bring them together. When all these people are in the garden, prejudices are put aside, and even through language barriers, they learn to communicate with each other.

This story allows readers to discuss how to put aside stereotypes and ethnic and age differences and what can come of that when one does. This is a great book to use in the classroom with 4th and 5th graders!