Seedfolks

Seedfolks is a collection of chapters about thirteen individuals that come together to create a garden. It all began when a Vietnamese girl, Kim, decides to plant lima beans in a vacant lot on her street. A nosy neighbor, Ana, takes notice and her curiosity gets the best of her. She investigates and digs up the seeds. In her guilt, she enlists the help of another man, Wendell. A man from a farming background, Wendell helps Ana rehabilitate the seeds. Soon enough, Wendell begins gardening. Over time, the weather improves and more and more people begin to plant their own fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  Dealing with different struggles and from a variety of cultural backgrounds, these people find beauty in a vacant lot. They work together to cultivate an environment that is very different from what they see around them. 

I really enjoyed reading this book, as it was a very quick read that gave me the opportunity to understand several perspectives at once. Beautifully interwoven, these stories share great hardships and prove that everyone is struggling with something. I think that the premise of this book is great, too! Realistically, a community garden is the perfect way to bring people together—even those who don't think they want to be a part of it. 

There were, however, some concerns about the racial aspect of this book. Paul Fleischmann is a white male from the United States. Some of the depictions of minorities in this novel were incredibly stereotypical. I felt as though they could be considered derogatory. The short chapters facilitated this because you could only get a slight glimpse at a character before meeting a brand new one with their own problems and cultural backgrounds. 

Personally, I felt as though Sam—the only white character in the book—was portrayed as the most levelheaded person in the story. While other characters were working to sort out their issues, Sam was the person that started conversations and attempted to bring the garden together. He was the character that noticed the garden was segregated. I felt that this character's role, having been the only white character in the book, was a little unnecessary as he comes off as the nicest and most respectable character of all.  

I wish that the author had been more respectful of the representation of the diversity in the book. The idea of having a garden that brings such diverse cultures and races together is one that is noble. However, it is important to me that I feel the characters are authentic and properly represent their culture. Being of Hispanic heritage myself, I could say that I didn't feel that way about the Hispanic characters in this book. 

Due to the mature content of this book, I would likely suggest that the target audience be middle schoolers. This book can serve as a great conversation starter for these big racial and cultural issues that face us throughout our lives. It would also be a really rewarding project to create a school community garden, integrating science when applicable, to bring this book to life. 

Seedfolks 
By: Paul Fleischmann
Published in 2004