The Bad Seed

I bought this book for my friend’s daughter’s 2nd birthday. My friend shared her daughter loooooves this book and they read it regularly. She even sent me a video of her daughter saying her favorite book is “baaaaaaaaad seeeeeed.” It was amazing.

About the book, it’s a short and sweet story abt a “bad seed” who turns out to be not that bad after all. The story is told from the perspective of the seed, and doesn’t really explain why he decides he doesn’t want to be bad anymore, but is still adorable and fun to read. The full page images are pretty great too.

My boyfriend and I were stumbling around a bookstore when this cover stopped us dead in our tracks. What could The Bad Seed, depicting a very sullen yet adorable seedette on the cover, possibly be about? Well... if the title didn't give it away, it's about being a baaaaaaaaaad seed. We flipped through a couple of pages and couldn't stop laughing and one of us has called the other a baaaaaaad seed at least once a week since we found this title a month ago.

When my two year old niece's birthday snuck up on me, I was at a loss for what book to get her (I always get her a book... I mean c'mon, I'm the aunt with a book blog after all) and I decided to purchase The Bad Seed for her to laugh at when our family members stretch out the baaaaad seed phrase when reading it to her. She's definitely a little young for this book (it's probably best for 3 - 6 year olds), but I think the stretched out words will still manage to bring her joy. My niece struggles slightly with manners currently and I think this book gently introduces how some behaviors can be seen as rude and illustrates how rude actions can affect how other people interact with you after you've been... wait for it... a baaaaaad seed. At the end, the bad seed decides to reform some of his actions and habits, and while he still isn't perfect, he's still mostly successful at choosing to be a nicer person to his peers and reaps some rewards for that. I think this would be a good book to show to children who are struggling with being nice to others and highlight ways that their actions might come back around and ultimately negatively impact them. This is definitely the most fun, new children's picture book I've read in a bit.

I LOVE this book because the "bad seed" reminds me of my son. I don't believe there are any "bad kids" in the world but I'm sure kids look at themselves as bad if that is all they ever hear. I love how this story gives a sympathetic backstory on how he got "so bad" and how he is trying to do better and change his bad ways. Even though my son isn't perfect, he sure does try to do good and his behavior improves when people notice the POSITIVE instead of the negative. I absolutely love the last lines of the book where the other seeds are gossiping (another lesson) saying, "Hey! There goes that bad seed," and another seed sticks up for him and says, "Actually, he isn't that bad anymore." Then the "bad seed" turns around with a smile on his face and says, "I heard that." Moral of the story.....children are always listening. Focus on the positive rather than the negative and a child's self-talk and behavior will drastically improve. My son's 2nd grade year was so negative and he was always getting into trouble. I rarely heard the good and neither did my son. His 3rd grade year was amazing. The teacher really focuses on pointing out his good choices and what a difference that made in my son's attitude toward school. Thank you Jory John for writing this book. I also love the book, "I Love You Already" which teaches readers about friendship, love, patience, loyalty and forgiveness. :)