HUNDRED FEET TALL

To reach full potential, living things as diverse as seeds and children need to be nurtured.

When an anthropomorphic two-parent rabbit family with a bespectacled child finds a little brown seed under a tree, they bring it home with the “promise that [they will] help it to grow.” With some good earth, water, light, and lots of love, the planted seed first grows invisibly, then a green stalk, leaves, and roots appear, and finally the tree is large enough to plant outside and grow to the titular height of 100 feet. As the seed develops, clear, full-color, cartoon illustrations show the rabbit family also nurturing the bespectacled child into a budding scientist, artist, and avid reader. Sharp-eyed young listeners will note that one parent’s belly expands with the passage of time as well, and they’ll be ready for a touching scene when the new baby arrives home to greet the newly minted older sibling. Once planted outside, the grateful tree, which addresses the young bunny directly throughout, thanks the child “for the love you’ve shown / to a little brown seed that you found in the fall. / I hope that you visit and climb in my boughs, / and together we’ll stand at a hundred feet tall.” Easy, well-metered rhyme, a repeating and expanding refrain, and words and musical notation on the rear endpapers combine to create a new storytime and music-circle favorite.

A sweet paean to the nurturing power of love.