One Little Seed

New picture books look to captivate open minds. Elaine Greenstein offers two cyclical tales for youngest readers. One Little Seed understatedly depicts a seed's growth from initial planting (""One little seed/ Dropped in a hole"") through its development and eventual blossoming as a bright sunflower. Folk-influenced, full-bleed watercolors balance facing pages where brief lyrical phrases and small circular insets float on white space. One Little Lamb applies this formula to a rural setting where a lamb's wool is sheared, carded and spun; a girl uses the wool to knit ""two little mittens I wear on my hands,"" which she wears when visiting the flock.