New York Times, Amazon bestseller
Recommended by Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal
Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep recommend

“The fate of all life on Earth rests in the hands of the brave little seed brothers and sisters!”
Caldecott Medal-winning author and New York Times bestselling author
Another epic adventure follows Brian Selznick's Hugo Cabret!

Merwin and Louis, two young seed siblings, grew up under the care of their mother tree in an old forest of the Cretaceous period.
They are sycamore tree seeds.
They harbor the hope that one day they will take root in the ground and grow into large trees.
Then, at some point, Louis began having repeated dreams in which an unknown voice spoke to him.
One day, a huge fire breaks out in the forest, and the mother tree is lost. The tree is still young and is pushed out into the world, far from the forest, into an unknown world.
Left alone and unprepared, the siblings must use their wits and imagination to navigate a perilous world filled with dinosaurs, meteors, and volcanoes! Of course, they must also overcome the fear that they will never find a safe place to take root and grow into a mighty tree.
As the unknown voice heard in his dream grows louder, Louis begins to realize that the mission given to their lives may be greater than anyone could ever imagine...


Full of humor, wonder, mystery, and hope, Big Tree: The Adventures of Little Seeds is an unprecedented adventure illustrated with over 300 magnificent, original illustrations.
This is Selznick's most imaginative, sharply observed, and warmly emotional work to date, and it is a book that will appeal to readers of all generations.

“When Mom fulfills her role as Mom, you will become brave and strong enough to fly into the sky as if you had wings.
And it will find a safe place to put down roots.
Then you can become a big and strong adult tree like your mother.
Good parents always give their children roots and wings.
Strong roots and brave wings that will take you where you need to go - that's what metaphor is.
“Now, do you understand what Mom means?”
“But I’m so small,” Louis said from a small crevice in the darkness.
“When I grow up, will I become a small tree?”
“You can grow into a bigger tree than anyone else,” said the mother tree.
“If only the conditions were right.”
“What are the conditions?” asked Louis.
“Merwin, you explain.”
“Fertile soil, abundant sunlight, and clean water.”
--- p.60~61

A thin beam of light descended from the sky and danced faintly as the wind blew through the leaves.
The joy of the mother tree was passed on to the seeds.
“Besides, you never know where the wind will take you,” whispered the mother tree.
"But what if we end up in the wrong place? And how long will we have to fly?" Merwin asked, lowering his voice so Louis couldn't hear.
"What if we can't find the right soil, sunlight, and water? What should we do then?"
The mother tree took deep breaths to calm Merwin, but did not respond.
Inside the seed cluster, Louis broke the silence and said something out of the blue.
“I want to go to the moon and put down roots.”
“That’s a really great idea.”
“But Mom,” whispered Merwin.
“Lewis can’t go to the moon.”
“Merwin, let Louis dream.
“Dreaming is an important thing.”
--- p.62

The mother tree took a deep breath and then said.
“Now it’s time to fly.”
Louis was very excited.
“Are we flying? Right now?”
“Mom, I don’t want to fly,” Merwin whispered, keeping her voice low so Louis couldn’t hear.
“I’m not ready yet.”
“Just remember what Mom said.”
"How far must we fly, Mom? Where must we go? What if we don't find the soil, sunlight, and water we crave? What happens then? Do we die?"
Even as Merwin asked, more and more cryptic and terrifying messages were being transmitted through messengers to the roots of the Mother Tree.
The mother tree listened to the message and continued to suck up as much water as possible.
The idea was to share moisture with other young trees in the forest.
Even as countless thoughts raced through her mind, the mother tree was most concerned about the young seeds.
“My dear children, remember your roots and your wings,” said the mother tree to all her children.
“Remember your roots and wings!”
Giant monsters have invaded.
Among them, one monster, running wild in fear, flailed its limbs wildly to escape the flames and ran straight towards the mother tree.
The monster's tail, struggling to survive, slashed precariously through the air, tearing leaves, twigs, and seed clusters from the mother tree.
The seeds rang out with a terrifying sound they had never heard before.

--- p.97~98

Lewis discovered a small gash on one of the insect's wings.
Could it be scratched or torn inside the box?
“Look at this wound, brother.
“I don’t know if the spotted one will fly well.”
“Fly?!” Marwin shouted.
"Yes! That's it! I can fly out of here on a spotted plane! I can go straight to the beautiful mountains."
“Will that work? I don’t know,” said Louis.
“Of course it will happen.
“It’s a perfect plan.”
Louis sat down next to the spotted fly and gently plucked off the remaining wings with a feather.
Merwin said, watching the scene anxiously.
“Be careful.”
Merwin knew that the future of his siblings depended on this newborn, trembling creature.

--- p.220~221

“My role is to help other plants grow, that is my destiny,” said the fallen leaves.
“So I will do my best to help you.
But you too must realize your role and destiny.”
“We too know our role and our destiny!” Merwin shouted.
“We must go to that beautiful mountain and find a safe place for us to grow up, just like our mother said!”
“That’s right, sprouting and growing is the role and destiny of every seed,” said the fallen leaves.
“But you may have another role and destiny.”
“Another role and destiny?” asked Merwin.
“Okay, one is enough!”
“But what if… you were given a role and destiny far greater than you thought?” said the fallen leaves.

--- p.274~275

The air was filled with the unpleasant smell of sulfur.
“Brother Merwin.” Louis, who had been silently standing next to me, spoke.
"huh?"
“Don’t forget me.”
“Don’t forget me? What are you talking about?”
At that moment, an explosion was heard, a million times louder and more terrifying than when the giant monster's tail struck the siblings' seed clusters.
Boiling steam and thick gray ash hissed and burst violently, filling the air.
From deep within the earth, boiling red lava shot up high, painting the sky red with flames.

--- p.330~331

“Lewis thought we had to save the world,” Merwin said.
“That’s right, Louis.”
"But how do we save the world? Mom said we need to find a safe place to put down roots.
"If we're going to save the world, how do we take root? It sounds so dangerous."
--- p.434~435

The eerie white light in the sky grew brighter.
If this planet were to collide, it would cause massive fires, raging storms, and the entire world would be covered in ash and smoke for years to come.
All life on the planet will be at risk.
But Lewis and Merwin knew that even the smallest of people could fight for the future, even if it seemed impossible and dangerous right now.

--- p.473