"Early one spring morning, a little seed woke up after her long winter sleep. She yawned and stretched. With a loud CRACK her hard brown jacket fell away. 'Oh!' said the surprised seed. The earth above felt warm." ... this was just the beginning of big changes to come. The colorful illustrations in this book are made by the author from dyed wool fibers, felted together to create a solid piece of "fabric." She employed a technique known as "dry," or "needle," felting, which requires a small hand tool called a felting needle with barbs along the shaft to catch the fibers as it pierces the surface of the wool and binds them together. Jan describes the experience as "painting with a needle." (Ages 3-5) .