The Seed by Isabel Pin translated by Rosemary Lanning

 

"Once upon a time - in a small, distant part of the great, wide world - there were two tribes ... "

This is such a powerful opening sentence filled with story possibilities. Now think about the names of the tribes - the Scarabs and the Chafers. Perhaps you have heard of scarab beetles but I had not heard of chafers. 

When an object falls from the sky the two tribes set out to investigate using very different methods. The Scarabs "scraped splinters from its surface and took them to their scientists who examined them with the very latest scientific instruments." The Chafers, make notes and sketches and their scholars review all their historical records to compare with this new object. Happily both groups come to the same conclusion. The object is a cherrystone. 

"There was only one problem. The cherrystone had come to rest right on the border." And so, as you will have guessed, a war begins with weapons and strategies. Years pass. Meanwhile the seed ...

I will leave you to guess the scene when the two tribes finally confront each other across their battle line. 

One day a seed drops from the sky and lands right on the border between two territories. The tribes on both sides of the border immediately claim it. ""This means war!"" their leaders declare. Both sides prepare for battle with great inventiveness, creating huge arsenals of deadly weapons, and drawing up complicated plans of attack. But ironically, in the midst of all these preparations, the seed itself is quietly providing the simple solution that the tribes, in their haste, have overlooked. Google

The Seed is of course long out of print. It was originally published with the title Der Kern in 2001.

Here are some of the illustrations - they really appeal to me.

Pin's "unusual" artwork is "filled with texture," noted School Library Journal contributor Marianne Saccardi, the critic adding that the "fantastical creatures"—part cockroach and part bee—are imaginatively rendered. Encyclopedia.com

A possible companion book would be this one:

It fell from the Sky

And if you want to read a less serious book about mysterious objects and beetles try to find this one.

Babak the Beetle

Isabel Pin is a new discovery of mine. She is an award-winning illustrator who has published more than 40 books, received numerous awards, and was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2011 and 2012. Born in France, she lives in Berlin, Germany.

The Seed is another terrific book from North South - I would love to visit a library one day, such as the International Youth Library in Munich and explore all of their titles - every book from this publisher that I have discovered is such a treasure. 

Many years ago I worked with my Grade Five students exploring Picture books on the theme of conflict resolution. Here are some of the books we explored - and I do wish I had also included The Seed.

Two Giants