Mother Nature's Magic Seed

Anne Hutchings is an elementary-school teacher-librarian with the Durham
Board of Education.

Mother Nature appoints Julia to care for the forest and its creatures
during her absence, entrusting Julia with her magical seed, to be used
only in case of an emergency. Julia foolishly uses her new power to make
changes to the world, with disastrous results. Fortunately, Mother
Nature, with her newborn babies, returns just in time to save the day.

This story, told in rhyme and accompanied by colored-pencil
illustrations (childlike in nature), is clearly intended for
primary-grade children. Yet many of the concepts explored are far beyond
their comprehension. For example, the significance of the “newborn’s
soft touch” and Mother Nature’s twin babies, a boy and a girl, is
not clear. And while children can readily identify ways in which humans
pollute and destroy the environment, genetic manipulation of animals is
outside their grasp. It is evident that the author’s intentions in
writing this cautionary tale were good. It is unfortunate that she
appears to have forgotten, on occasion, who her audience is. Not a
first-choice purchase.