Gold Winner of the Green Earth Book Award (Picture Book Primary) by the Nature Generation
 
Teacher Favorites: Teacher Read. Teacher Chosen. (K-2nd Grade) by the Children’s Book Council
 
5-star Gold Winner from Reader Views Reviews (Children's Fiction Picture Book)
 
Featured in Publisher’s Weekly
 
Featured in Children's Book Council Summer Showcase: These are the People in my Neighborhood
 
How does a handful of seeds turn into a garden?
 
With lyrical language and blooming illustrations, Mara Plants a Seed demonstrates the transformative power of simple actions. By cleaning up an empty lot and planting fifty sunflower seeds, Mara begins to create a flourishing, wild garden — but she doesn’t do it alone.
 
Little does Mara know, flying insects, digging worms, hungry birds, noisy neighbors, and other secret gardeners are working to help transform the lot into something even more beautiful than she imagined. Rain storms wash away seeds, but rabbits leave some behind. Some helpers nibble up weeds, and others fertilize the soil. Each time Mara visits the garden, she’s expecting to see her sunflowers growing. But as the flowers blossom, she uncovers the exciting secrets waiting for her!

Mara Plants a Seed inspires young readers to develop a deeper connection to the environment around them and study the many ways natural processes and ordinary animals help plants grow and thrive. Children will watch as Mara’s simple action of restoring an empty lot transforms a community and the beautiful way the garden bursts to life.