Mariposa: A Tiny Seed's Big Transformation
by Leigh Anne Fortner
illustrated by Anastassiya Selezneva
Date: 2022
Publisher: Leigh Anne Fortner
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 24
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon
Growing Can Be Hard...Especially for a Seed!!!
In this beautifully illustrated story in rhyme, a tiny seed is just starting her life in the desert. It seems that nothing can survive in such a harsh environment, or at least that is what she is led to believe...
Can she survive the scorching desert sun?
Will she allow the negative opinions of others to shape her own thoughts?
Will the storm winds sweep her away before she discovers her true identity?
Come along and follow Mariposa's journey of transformation, and teach your kids that we are ALL created with purpose and love.
(synopsis from Amazon; see it on Goodreads)
Let me preface this by saying that I'm not the audience for this book. I don't read a lot of Christian fiction. And this book does have a religious bent to it, which isn't exactly clear from the synopsis. (Unless you look at the Amazon categories, it's not obvious.)
That said, I still want to share my thoughts on this picture book. It's a story told in rhyme about a seed in the desert who grows into a plant. Everyone around her is pretty negative, telling her she's worthless... or even telling her she's things she clearly isn't. (That part was confusing for me. Why was the coyote trying to convince the plant that she was a deadly snake? Is this a religious thing I'm not familiar with?)
The text started off just okay for me. The rhythm is fairly strong at the beginning, although it gets a little sketchy later on. The writing is less impressive. Comma splices are abundant, and though a child listening to the story won't know that, it's kind of annoying to adult readers who can see the words. Anyway, what starts off as a simple story headed in a good direction kind of goes off the rails as God starts booming down from above, solving all the main character's problems. It's literally a deus ex machina! I would've liked to see the flower come to her conclusions about herself on her own... not be told by God.
The illustrations by Anastassiya Selezneva are probably the best part of this book. The characters are cute and appealing, and the warm colour palette really evokes the scorching desert.
I would probably only recommend this to parents who are looking for Christian picture books to read aloud, and who don't mind all the protagonist's problems being solved by the literal voice of God.
Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
Overall: 3.29 out of 5
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