Nature · for 1–2 years · 2 min read

Puff! The dandelion seeds fly

A puff-along story about dandelion seeds and the wind. Read it slowly, and blow along with Tomi on every “Puff!”.

Tomi points at a yellow dandelion in the garden; beside it, the same dandelion has become a round, white, fluffy seed head, with Grandma Ines close by.

Look, Tomi! A yellow flower. Sunny yellow, in the grass. Days go by. Now it is white and fluffy!

Tomi blows the fluffy dandelion clock with puffed-out cheeks, and many little white parachute seeds fly up into the blue sky while Grandma Ines laughs beside him.

Tomi takes a big breath. Puff! Up it goes! Seeds fly up, up, up. Can you puff too?

One little seed, a brown seed hanging under a white fluffy parachute, floats on the breeze over the pale-blue garden fence while Tomi and Grandma Ines point up at it.

Look at one little seed. It hangs under a tiny fluffy parachute. Whoosh! The wind carries it over the fence.

Tomi and Grandma Ines walk hand in hand along a park path, watching the little parachute seed float high over a round duck pond and a red bench.

Grandma holds Tomi’s hand on the path. Float, float, float… Over the park! Past the ducks on the pond.

The little seed drifts down over a green hill and lands on soft soil; small pictures below show rain falling and then the sun shining on the same spot.

Whoosh! Over the green hill. Down, down, down it goes. It lands on soft soil. Then comes the rain. Then comes the sun.

On the green hill on a later sunny day, Tomi crouches and waves at a new yellow dandelion in the grass while Grandma Ines smiles beside him.

One day, Tomi and Grandma walk up the hill. What is that in the grass? A new yellow dandelion! Hello, little flower. Tomi smiles. Another day… puff!

the end

let’s play: puff like the wind

  1. A grown-up holds up a small strip of tissue paper.
  2. Take a big breath together.
  3. Say “Puff!” and blow gently. Watch the tissue fly like a seed.
  4. Try a tiny puff, then a big puff. Which one makes it fly more?

talk about it

  • What colour was the flower first?
  • Where did the little seed fly?
  • Can you puff like Tomi?

for grown-ups

What this story helps with: A yellow dandelion turns into a fluffy white ball of seeds. Each seed has a tiny fluffy parachute, the wind carries it to a new place, and there it can grow into a new dandelion.

This story practises big breaths and gentle blowing, sound and action words (puff, whoosh, down, down), and simple ‘over the…’ sequencing. It also shows that a yellow dandelion becomes a fluffy ball of seeds, that each seed has a tiny parachute the wind carries away, and that a seed can grow into a new flower after rain and sun. To continue, look for dandelions together on a walk: can your child spot a yellow one and a white, fluffy one? If you find a dandelion clock, take turns to puff and watch where the seeds float.

sources we checked

Written and illustrated by the wishyou.today team. Every story is checked for age, kindness, safety and facts before it is published. Spotted something? Tell us on Instagram.