Little Peach Pit
Little Peach Pit tells the charming story of a peach pit battling adversity with dedication, hard work, and confidence.
Grace Nava begins the tale with a farmer planting three seeds: an apple seed, a watermelon seed, and a peach pit. The apple and watermelon seeds tease the peach pit for being wrinkly and unattractive, but the peach pit’s conscience tells him that if he perseveres, he will grow sweet fruit for all to enjoy. The pit grows roots and sprouts leaves, turns into a sapling, and survives through the hardships of fall, winter, spring, and summer.
Through each season, the peach pit reminds himself that if he continues to do what is right by listening to his conscience, he will achieve his goal of producing fruit. His hard work pays off and, because of the high quality of his fruit, the farmer plants an entire peach orchard where the little peach pit was planted.
The book is visually appealing and well laid out, with text on right-hand pages and Kubra Aslan’s illustrations on the left. The illustrations are simple and draw readers’ attention exactly where they should look. Soft, muted colors create a calm atmosphere. Dialogue is printed in boldface and enclosed in quotation marks, allowing young readers to easily discern when a character is speaking.
The story is enjoyable, particularly as a read-aloud book. Nava uses words to create feeling and meaning, such as when she writes, “The flowers became fruits that grew big and heavy on each branch.” There are, however, some inconsistencies with the rhyme scheme, which may be confusing to some readers. The end of the book contains a short vocabulary list of the more advanced words that are important to the story (including “persevere”). This is a wonderful addition to a book for a young reader; it can also help an adult define these words in simple terms for children.
Little Peach Pit is recommended for readers of preschool age through second grade, though younger children would also enjoy it. Children of all ages will learn about how to handle bullying as well as how to use their conscience and work ethic to persevere so they can become what they are meant to be, just like the little peach pit.
Reviewed by
Beth VanHouten
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
