Amazing Plant Powers: How Plants Fly, Fight, Hide, Hunt, and Change the World

by Loreen Leedy, Andrew Schuerger

Overview

Go beyond the basics of botany with this introduction to the strangest, coolest things plants can do.

You might already know that plants can turn light into food— but did you know that some plants have to bend or climb to get to the light?

Join Spike E. Prickles, the charistmatic cactus host of this book, to learn about all the incredible things plants can do. From wet swamps to dry deserts to the arctic tundra, plants have adapted in a wide variety of ways to survive in all kinds of environment.

Bold photographs and bright illustrations highlight all sorts of surprising plant powers: defending themselves with sharp spines, regrowing from small cuttings, hiding from predators, surviving forest fires, and much more! Amazing Plant Powers is a fun, kid-friendly introduction to the wide, wild world of plants— and why we need them.

Includes a glossary of important terms, and suggestions for fun plant projects readers can try on their own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823440474
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	12/18/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	146,058
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Loreen Leedy's nonfiction books— including 2 X 2=Boo, Seeing Symmetry, and more— are staples in classrooms across the country. Her books have been ALA Notable books, Kirkus Reviews Best Books, and Booklist Editors Choices. Ms. Leedy lives in Florida. Learn more on her website at www.loreenleedy.com.

Dr. Andrew Schuerger is a research professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida. His office and lab are in the Space Life Sciences Lab at the Kennedy Space Center, where he studies Mars astrobiology and plant-pathogen interactions.

Editorial Reviews

"In this inspired science guide, a cartoon cactus named Spike E. Prickles teaches readers about the special powers that plants possess . . . A great supplement to plant units, and a welcome introduction to informational texts."—School Library Journal


"A strong demonstration of plant powers." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
K-Gr 3—In this inspired science guide, a cartoon cactus named Spike E. Prickles teaches readers about the special powers that plants possess, such as photosynthesis, the ability to grow in diverse environments, and the use of toxins to ward off hungry animals. Spike introduces himself as a TV-show host presenting on the world of plant life, an entertaining conceit sure to amuse kids. Though the text is comprised of short, accessible sentences, the pages are crammed with detailed photographs, accompanied by illuminating labels and captions, making this book more suited for individual browsing than group sharing. Along the way, three cartoon potted plants watching the show keep up a persistent chatter. While these asides from the peanut gallery may distract from the content, they also demonstrate how children form connections to what they already know, make observations about the visual content, and pose questions. VERDICT A great supplement to plant units, and a welcome introduction to informational texts.—Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR

School Library Journal

2015-02-16
Spike E. Prickles and his friends show off a wide variety of plant adaptations.This colorful book opens with an introduction to plant parts and needs—light, water, air, and minerals—and a diagram of photosynthesis. Then, spread by spread, the text introduces complications: plants need water, shade cuts off light, soils may not be ideal, seeds need to travel, hungry bugs and animals are threats, for example. Captioned photographs show numerous examples of plants solving these problems. Four smiling, talking cartoon plants add comments. The style of these digitally created, outlined illustrations will be familiar to readers of Leedy's many other informational titles for the very young, as will her cheerful approach. The captions use larger fonts to highlight the different coping methods, emphasizing main ideas. The photographs are clear, but they often show only a very small part of the plant, decontextualized. Young readers may lack the background knowledge necessary to figure out just what's shown. The illustration of a wild banana shows the bananas on a stalk that ends with its flower and is captioned, "Wild bananas have large seeds." Readers could easily assume the flower is the seed rather than the true seeds invisible inside the fruit. A strong demonstration of plant powers but a weak teaching tool. (plant projects, glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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