The backdrop for the transformations in Seedfolks is a diverse urban neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio—described as "a city of immigrants." Gibb Street serves as the boundary between predominantly black, Latino, and Asian communities on one side and a mostly white community on the other. This unique setting brings together working-class individuals from various backgrounds, allowing them to cross paths in grocery stores, variety shops, and dry cleaners. They also observe each other’s daily lives from their apartment windows. Fleischman excels at intertwining distinct personalities and needs within a single environment. In Bull Run, it’s the renowned Civil War battleground. In the Coming-and-Going Men short stories, it’s New Canaan, Vermont, circa 1800. In Westlandia, it’s an entirely new civilization. In Seedfolks, the story unfolds around a vacant lot in a dilapidated part of Cleveland.

Kim ventures into the lot on a cold April Sunday, undeterred by the rats, to begin her project. She aims to capture the attention of her deceased father, a lifelong farmer in Vietnam who passed away before her birth, by planting six beans behind a rusty refrigerator. Her sprouts require watering sooner than expected, but the junk that hides her project from all but the most observant also limits sunlight. Ana, watching suspiciously from her third-floor window, decides to investigate and enlists Wendell, a janitor living on the first floor, to help with the watering. Wendell, inspired by his involvement, soon clears a section of the lot for himself and starts planting. As more neighbors join, Leona, who knows how to get apathetic public officials to cooperate, takes the initiative to research the lot's ownership (it belongs to the city of Cleveland) and persuades the owner to remove the rotting trash. "The smell... made you think of hog pens and maggots and kitchen scraps from back when Nixon was president," Leona remarks. She even takes a bag of the trash to the Public Health Department and opens it right there.

Following this, the number of gardeners swells as Leona had envisioned. Transformed from an eyesore to what one gardener calls a Paradise, this part of Gibb Street becomes so beautiful and cherished that one gardener wishes it to be included in the city’s recommended tourist sites. Despite the many abandoned buildings, the surprising garden now uplifts both strollers and shut-ins, encouraging further improvements in the street's atmosphere.

Notably, the reader is given very limited glimpses of the inside of the apartments and shops. We discover that the apartment where Kim resides with her mourning mother and sisters featured a traditional altar to her father's memory on that April Sunday when she first sneaked out to the lot. Wendell's apartment has a telephone, which he dreads because it has often brought bad news. We also learn that one of the regular onlookers owns a rocking chair, and Lateesha's window, from which she sees the beefsteak tomatoes Curtis is growing to win her back, has lace curtains. Overall, the garden is the primary focus throughout the book.

Regarding the timeline, the presence of Kim's family on Gibb Street situates the story in post-Vietnam War America. Refugees from other twentieth-century conflicts in Southeast Asia—such as Cambodia—also reside on the street. Additionally, refugees from more recent civil wars and economic crises in Latin America and the Caribbean have joined the African Americans, who began migrating from the southern United States to northern industrial states during World War I and moved to Gibb Street during the Depression. Ana describes Gibb Street as being "like a cheap hotel. You stay until you've got enough money to leave."

Seedfolks is enjoyable when read individually, but it becomes even more impactful when read aloud by different voices. The technique Fleischman employs to develop the plot and characters has drawn some criticism. Some critics argue that the vignettes are too short, superficial, and fragmented to achieve the coherence expected of a novel. Fleischman seems aware of these critiques but remains unfazed. He admits to being more intrigued by the intricacies of the plot, the choice of words, and the sounds of the activities. He clearly values the multiple perspectives that vignettes, like those in Bull Run and Seedfolks, bring to a narrative. He believes that children and young adult readers have different expectations than adults. "I really write," he states, "for the home theater.... You know, the kitchen table is my stage." From this viewpoint, Seedfolks fully qualifies as a novel. Its deviations from traditional adult fiction enhance its literary value for readers of all kinds.

Fleischman's ability to craft this story in less than seventy pages showcases his design genius. The story being told by individual characters—a technique that was successfully used in Bull Run—makes Seedfolks both simple and intricate, and always engaging. The inherent challenges of gardening provide the plot with a compelling structure, focus, action, and even suspense. After meeting one character, the reader eagerly anticipates the next. The diversity of the characters makes the story captivating, and the garden's vastness, set against the backdrop of a "city of immigrants" and the unspoken histories that have driven migration and immigration, makes each character seem a natural fit. Judy Pederson's simple illustrations effectively support the character sketches, which generally feel authentic.

Each character is given the chance to express their relevant thoughts, feelings, and experiences, making the style of expression less significant, so much so that accuracy in dialect doesn't seem necessary or even appropriate. Only Sae Young's style shows a noticeable amount of dialect, and this deviation is brief. The more she gardens and listens to others, the more Sae Young adopts their syntax.

The characters often use figurative language to express themselves. For instance, Ana likens the street to a cheap hotel. When her curiosity about Kim's plants leads her to disrupt the growth of Kim's beans, she describes feeling as if she had "read through her secret diary and ripped out a page without meaning to." Sam employs another metaphor: "You've seen fishermen mending the rips in their nets," he explains. "That's what I do, only with people." Virgil compares the reaction of a meddling drug dealer, when a rat ran up his leg, to someone who "shook his leg like his toe was being electrocuted." He also likens their efforts in growing lettuce to "like having a new baby in the family. And I was like its mother." Nora describes Mr. Myles as "a salmon traveling upstream through his past," and passionately declares, "Gardening boring? Never!" She emphasizes her point by saying, "It has suspense, tragedy, startling developments—a soap opera growing out of the ground." Nora recalls the intense focus of her black stroke patient Mr. Myles on weeding and the mental boost they both receive from the garden. She references an ancient Egyptian prescription for insanity that Fleischman mentions in a New Age newspaper article. "It was a mind-altering drug we took daily," Nora says of their walks through the garden. These analogies, though seemingly random, are well-crafted and enhance both the plot and character development.

Observing how the garden positively impacts both participants and onlookers, we feel no significant regret about their past conditions and no anxiety about the impending deaths of elderly characters like Mr. Myles. Having witnessed them live more vibrantly, we can believe they are content.

Fleischman leaves the fate of Kim, who inadvertently started it all, to our imagination. If it is indeed Kim whom Florence sees in the garden with a trowel and a bag of beans the next spring, why does Florence not recognize her? Has Kim grown that much physically over the winter, or has she simply matured emotionally? Perhaps another Vietnamese girl is reenacting Kim's story for similar reasons. Readers might also speculate whether other members of Kim's family ever join her in the garden or at least learn about her contributions. Do they ever question the healthy beans Kim brings home, or worry that her involvement in the garden might lead to trespassing charges?

The presence of unresolved issues here may carry symbolic and philosophical significance. Is the solitary initiator the least suspected, understood, or valued by those nearest to him or her? Does merging with the universal family lessen one's reliance on the family of origin? Given that many believe God created all nations from one blood, and that "a little child" is destined to guide humanity back to harmony, the reader might accept this lack of conclusion for the potentially insightful questions it can provoke.

Seedfolks effectively broadens social awareness by addressing a realistic array of prejudices and offering straightforward solutions through constructive interaction and engagement with nature. While Fleischman develops his characters based on cultural and personal backgrounds, neither of which are perfect, he manages to challenge old stereotypes without reinforcing new ones. For instance, does Virgil's father fit the stereotype held by many northern urbanites about West Indian businessmen? Observing the father's sincere efforts with his dream crop and the lackluster results he achieves, we can see that his disregard for the pregnant teens' squash has its consequences. However, witnessing his struggles, readers are inclined to wish him better fortune in the future.

By highlighting desires and motives that stereotypes overlook, Fleischman helps to dismantle these stereotypes. Amir, an Indian shopkeeper, meets a Polish woman in the garden who walks the same seven long blocks as he does. He realizes that he previously knew nothing about Polish women in Cleveland, despite their large presence, aside from the fact that they "cooked lots of cabbage." He soon understands, as he puts it, "how useless" all his preconceived notions about Poles are, likening them to "the worthless shell around an almond." Furthermore, observing Curtis' tenderness towards Lateesha, his dedication and creativity in growing her tomatoes, and his mentorship of Royce—along with his transformation in self-image through his new way of dressing—readers come to see Curtis as a vulnerable human being, beyond his fixation on building his deltoids.

In addition to offering valuable information and practical ideas, Seedfolks provides insight into enduring social issues such as equity, international relations, immigration, civil rights, responsible governance, fair housing, elder care, and urban economic reform. By illustrating these solutions, the book encourages their application in real life.

According to Fleischman in the Indiana Media Journal review, every book he writes is unique, offering "very different types of books" and experiences. For example, Copier Creations focuses entirely on practical, contemporary information. Some books share similar purposes, though these purposes may be presented in different genres. Both the fictional Bull Run and the nonfictional Dateline: Troy transport readers to historical periods.

To fully appreciate the technique showcased in Seedfolks, readers should explore Bull Run and Coming-and-Going Men, the latter being a personal favorite of Fleischman despite not winning any awards. For a clearer illustration of Fleischman's talent in depicting voices and sounds, consider his award-winning works Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices, Townsend's Warbler, and the children's story Rondo in C.

Abrahamson, Richard F., et al. "From Author's Chair to Bookmakers Studio." Book Links (January 1997): 16-20. This article highlights books that explore various aspects of bookmaking, from inspiration to production. It provides details and the address for the Landmark Editions contest for young writers and includes remarks from Paul Fleischman on the benefits of writing with a pencil.

Beetz, K. H. "Joyful Noise." In Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, Vol. 5. Washington, D.C.: Beacham Publishing, 1991, pp. 2366-70. This piece offers an in-depth analysis of Paul Fleischman's 1989 Newbery Award-winning book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices.

Clarke, Anne. "Books in the Classroom." Horn Book (March-April 1993): 3. The author recounts her experience accompanying Paul Fleischman to schools in Belgium and the Netherlands attended by children of United States Department of Defense personnel. She outlines the strategies Fleischman used to teach these children about writing.

Copeland, Jeffrey S., and Vicky L. Copeland. Speaking of Poets 2: More Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1994. This second volume of interviews features conversations with poets who write primarily for children and young adults. The informal discussions cover the childhoods, writing practices, and advice of twenty authors, including Paul Fleischman. Each interview is preceded by an overview of the poet's life and work, and the contributors share ideas on how their poetry can be introduced to young readers.

Fleischman, Paul. "Paul Fleischman Writes About How He Came to Create Seedfolks." HarperCollins Kids Page (1997): www.harperchildrens.com/features/seedstateLhrm. Fleischman shares the personal experiences, desires, and lessons learned from those around him that inspired the themes, plot, and characters of this novel.

——. "Sound and Sense." Horn Book (September-October 1986): 551-55. Fleischman discusses how rhythm and other sound qualities are used to convey meaning and provide auditory pleasure.

Shearin, John W. "An Interview with Paul Heischman." Indiana Media Journal (Spring-Summer 1998): ideanet.doe.state.in.us/aime/journal/intervu. This illustrated interview, conducted on November 14, 1997, with Paul Fleischman during his visit to Indianapolis for a Reading Connection conference, covers his childhood, his use of words and sounds to convey meaning, his writing process, the limited audience appeal of his books, and his current reading material. The article concludes with a list of Fleischman's books from 1979-1998.