Christelle Vallat

I really enjoyed this story and could see myself including it in my future classroom’s library. The illustrations complimented the text very well; the use of color and of black and white really emphasized the power of sharing one’s feelings. The people were illustrated in black and white while the seeds made from feelings were illustrated in vibrant colors. Another reason I enjoyed this story was the plot. Towards the end, Julian is sad that he was unable to let go of his sadness to Celia because he lost his seed. Celia reveals to Julian that she had found his seed and has the boy plant and water the seed. Julian then has to wait for the seed to grow. It is obvious that he has to wait some time because as the illustrations continue, you can see that Julian is getting bigger. Julian is patient and continues to return to water and check in on his seed, as well as with Celia. Eventually, his seed blossoms and his heart “feels lighter” and “his world is filled with happiness.” I think this pushes children to think about the importance of sharing and acknowledging their feelings. As well as challenges children to think about the ways they can nurture their emotional wellbeing to find happiness. I believe that the message of this book is that it is important to interact with and understand our feelings to be able to find happiness. One of the main ways this story encourages children to do this is by opening up to a trusted adult. I think this book would be very useful to help foster trusting relationships between teachers and students or guidance counselors and students.… (lisätietoja)

I really liked the book “Celia” because it had very good organization and flow. First, it started by introducing Celia and what she does. Then, it mentioned that a little boy lost his seed and became upset because he had to keep his sadness. Then, it showed Celia going through the town with her seeds, finding the boy’s seed, and helping him in the end. This flow helps the reader see that although Celia has so many seeds, she cared about each person they represented. I also liked this book because of the illustrations. When Celia came by with her seeds, the area around her lit up and became colorful. This is good symbolism for who Celia was to people: someone to lean on and cheer them up. Lastly, I liked this book because of the characters. Celia was a kind-hearted woman and this is shown throughout the story. She even used the gifts she received for helping people to help people even further. She made their lives colorful. The big idea of this story is that if you give back to others, you will usually be rewarded. However, the reward doesn’t have to be extrinsic such as money or seeds; it can be intrinsic like the good feeling of helping someone when they are sad.… (lisätietoja)