The Seed of Doubt
Irena Brignull and Richard Jones
Walker Books

The boy in this story has big dreams far beyond his immediate horizons. “You know you can do anything, … as long as you believe it,” his father would say in encouragement.

One day while the boy is walking in the fields a bird calls to him and in so doing drops something from its beak.

Catching it, the boy feels the seed is significant. He plants it and after a few weeks it sprouts, becoming a sapling and eventually a tree.

The tree grows, the boy grows too, but his dreams get smaller and self doubt begins to take root. Now the tree seems to signify fear rather than its original joy and the boy no longer feels capable of climbing it.

His evening chats with his father are no longer of dreams but every day farm-related matters. However the change doesn’t go unnoticed by his father who reminds his son of those words from long back, “You can do anything … “
That triggers a change and slowly, slowly the lad begins his ascent of the tree, until eventually, with lots of encouraging words …

he reaches the very top.

Once more his dreams are visible: “I can see everything,” he tells his proud parent.

Movingly told is this beautiful story of a boy’s journey back to self-belief, equally movingly illustrated by Richard Jones. His variety of page layouts and perspectives make the narrative even more powerful, and I love the patterning.

It’s all too easy to let those small seeds of self-doubt take root and this book is a lovely starting point for talking about faith in oneself, determination and positiveness either at home or in the classroom.