Starred Review ALA Booklist (Tue Feb 28 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Starred Review Two sycamore-seed siblings, Merwin and Louise, nestle in their seed ball, waiting for the time that their dear mother tree has prepared them for, when they'll float free and set down roots of their own. Louise is eager to explore, and she's certain she's heard whispers from afar that the world needs her help, though exactly how is unclear. Their comfortable Cretaceous existence is upended when a vast fungal network brings news of impending danger and a run-in with a dinosaur sends the seeds flying much earlier than anticipated. They know it's imperative to find the perfect place to land o little or too much of anything could prove disastrous. But to fulfill their destiny, they'll have to navigate a wide world filled with wonder and uncertainty. Initially conceived as a film idea that Steven Spielberg hoped Selznick would spin into a screenplay, the astonishing story is at once vast and intimate, succeeding as both a small-scale adventure story and a broader exploration of the natural world. Glorious pencil drawings, moving swiftly from macro to micro lenses, turn wispy seeds into spritely, darling protagonists, and wordless sketched reveals that follow text interludes are sure to elicit gasps of surprise and delight. Detailed endnotes explain the incredible science inspiring much of the story. An enthralling and expansive meditation on what it means to be alive on this planet.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 2–8— Selznick returns with a majestically illustrated, modern-day parable. Sycamore seeds Louise and Merwin are suddenly separated from their mama tree due to a conflagration. They are thrust into a dangerous world of dinosaurs and volcanoes, hoping to set down roots somewhere safe. Throughout their treacherous journey, the stars speak to Louise, hinting at a possible life-changing event on the horizon. Along the way, they meet The Ambassadors (mycorrhizal fungi), Spot (a butterfly), King Seaweed, and The Scientists (Foraminifera). Originally meant for a Spielberg-produced animated film, this tale, with its combination of a childlike narrative and profound illustrations, presents a big, universal story of taking care of the miraculous Earth on which we live. Selznick's signature art was created with pencil on hot pressed watercolor paper, and the texture and nuance of these nearly 300 pages will strike wonder in every reader. In the back matter, Selznick explains the science behind the story, including dinosaurs, asteroids, and the beginning of life on Earth. It also features a selected bibliography and a poem by W.S. Merwin, the seed's namesake. Weighty themes of connectedness, conservation, and the impact that one small voice can have on the fate of the universe might feel unfathomable and too big for children, but in Selznick's hands, this poignant fable will resonate with all readers, young and old. VERDICT A special, one-of-a-kind book for the whole family that readers won't soon forget— Shelley M. Diaz

Horn Book (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Selznick elegantly intertwines pictures and words to tell the macro story of the natural world through the micro perspective of two sycamore seeds. Louise and Merwin are siblings who occupy the same seed ball but possess two distinct personalities. Louise is a starry-eyed dreamer, while Merwin is a pragmatist. When a stampede of dinosaurs forces the siblings' benevolent tree mother to disperse her seeds before they are trampled, a multi-millennial saga begins. Plant and plant-adjacent organisms are personified, often possessing personalities reflective of their roles in nature -- for example, mushrooms serve as communicative "Ambassadors" in the book the way actual mycorrhizal fungi connect forest root systems. Louise and Merwin encounter a range of ancient flora and fauna as they themselves work to "put down roots." A massive time jump to the present day, along with a stunning portrayal of the planet's formation (from Earth's perspective), reveals the true meaning of Louise and Merwin's journey: that life is a gift, fragile and in need of care and protection. Selznick's control of narrative, pacing, and book design is idiosyncratic and masterful. Fluid shifts between prose and double-page spreads of accomplished pencil illustrations are clear and effective, ranging from entire chapters in prose to passages alternating between text and image with every page-turn to sustained sequences of images. The afterword includes annotated notes on the real science found throughout, a selected biography, and backstory on the book's origin (it was originally conceived as a screenplay for a Spielberg film). Ambitious and poignant while still, ultimately, hopeful. Patrick Gall

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Caldecott Medalist Selznick opens this sweeping illustrated novel in a Cretaceous forest as two sycamore seeds, drawn as diminutive figures with shocks of delicate fuzz, search for a place to take root after a forest fire’s fallout propels them away from home. Louise, trusting and intuitive, often hears words from sources that can’t be seen (“The voice I’ve been hearing, the dreams, the Old One... It’s telling me there’s danger”). Protective, anxious Merwin brushes his sister’s insights aside (“We already know there’s danger! There’s danger everywhere!”), intent on finding a safe place to exist. Journeying through a lush, verdant world on the precipice of catastrophe, the two encounter varied outlooks via a host of beings who form Earth’s web of life: self-important King Seaweed, tiny Scientists who record the data of countless generations, a Ghost Leaf who helps other plants grow. Silvery, deeply textural drawings move elegantly between planet-scale drama, microscopic life, and Louise and Merwin’s shifting surroundings as the pace bounds inexorably onward, ending in a contemporary city where a Black child encounters a sidewalk-crack seedling. In evocative prose and peppery dialogue that sometimes get caught up in their message, the cinematic story journeys across time and space, contemplating the power of life to heal and the importance of developing “roots and wings.” Back matter details the science behind the story. Ages 7–up. (Apr.)