The Bad Seed
Author: Jory John
Published August 29, 2017
Page Count: 40
The Bad Seed (a Sunflower seed with stick arms and legs) has a reputation for being the baddest seed around. He cuts in line, lies about things, and always has a mean glare across his face. Part of this is because of past trauma, but mostly because he chooses to behave in unacceptable ways. Witness a story of repentance as the Bad Seed has a change of heart and learns that the choices he makes can improve his attitude and his reputation!
Reading Audience:
Three to eight would be a good age to read this out loud too, but I found myself enjoying it as an adult.
Stuff to be aware of:
The Bad Seed does some mean things, but many of them are more comical than horrifying. He never washes his hands and tells jokes with no punch lines. The Bad Seed’s backstory is told and it is kind of rough, but not graphic. He is a sunflower seed so he gets harvested and a guy chews him up and spits him out. He ends up with a black eye and a crack in his shell. Talk about traumatic?!?!
Overall:
Both of my girls enjoyed this one when they were younger. It is a great jumping off place to discuss the impact of our choices and how they affect our reputation and our attitude. It’s has a great morale and the humorous parts made me crack a smile. If your child is older this book also gives you a lead in to talking about how our past can affect us. Trauma, bad experiences, and our past can be discussed easily when looking at the Bad Seed’s back story. My kids are older now, but I still use this book to read to children in the childcare center where I work.
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