Weeds Find a Way

by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, Carolyn Fisher (Illustrator)

Overview

Weeds are wonderful! Persistent, exuberant…these plants have personalities, and this nonfiction picture book puts them on colorful display!

From bright yellow dandelions popping through cracks in sidewalks to purple loosestrife growing rampant along roadways, weeds offer unexpected splashes of color and life to the least likely of places. With lovely language and a sly sense of humor, this beautiful picture book celebrates the tenacious temperaments of these pesky plants and is sure to have little ones chanting, “Way to go, weeds!”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442412606
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	02/04/2014
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	336,337
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Cindy Jenson-Elliott is the author of the celebrated Weeds Find a Way illustrated by Carolyn Fisher. She is a freelance writer for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and educational publishers, as well as a teacher and natural history instructor. She has an MA in education, and she enjoys spending time outdoors in San Diego, California, where she lives with her family. Visit her at CindyJensonElliott.com.

Carolyn Fisher is the author and illustrator of The Snow Show, as well as the illustrator of Goodnight, World by Willa Perlman and Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliot. She teaches illustration at the Alberta College of Art and Design, and she regularly tours the country talking to people about art and book. She lives with her husband and their son in Calgary, Canada. Visit her online at CarolynFisher.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2013
“Good or bad, weeds offer endless opportunities to study one of nature’s most wonderful tools: adaptation,” writes Jenson-Elliott in an afterword to this flowery (no pun intended) tribute to the tenacity and versatility of plants that are often overlooked and unwanted. Using mixed-media paintings and digitally collaged elements, Fisher (Good Night, World) presents up-close images of feathery seeds bursting from pods, “like confetti from a popped balloon,” and squeezing their way out of cracks in the cement. A girl and her dog make their way through several scenes, adding a touch of fauna amid the flora. In one scene, the girl blows dandelion puffs into the wind; in another, a handful of “prickly burrs” cling to her socks, both evidence of how weeds can propagate. In addition to her afterword, Jenson-Elliott concludes with three pages of details about two dozen types of weeds, from wild carrot (aka Queen Anne’s lace) to toxic locoweed. The many intriguing details will leave readers with the understanding that these plants are fighters. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Stefanie von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"The language is lovely here, as seeds shoot, swirl, and poke, finding "a way to live where other plants can't grow." A little girl and her dog anchor the picture book, moving through beautiful natural landscapes…. An eye-opening look at what folks generally consider to be a nuisance."

February 2014 Booklist Online

"With a text that celebrates their perseverance, endnotes that describe their uses and illustrations that commemorate their beauty, this book invites young readers to re-examine their view of weeds. . . . Elegant language and incidental rhymes make these pages as fun to read aloud as they are to pore over. . . . This fact-filled picture book that reads like poetry may well cause young readers to rethink the idea of unwanted guests in the garden."

Shelf Awareness

"This book shares information about weeds which the reader will find fascinating. The word “weeds” usually conjures up plants that are unwanted; Jenson-Elliot presents weeds in a different light. . . . The full-page illustrations are beautiful, using earth colors. . . . This book would be a wonderful read-aloud."

Library Media Connection

"Instead of lamenting their pesky invasiveness, Jenson-Elliott celebrates weeds for their heartiness and ability to disseminate and adapt...the bold colors of the mixed media/digital collage illustrations do an admirable job of making the ordinary become stunning. More detailed information about how weeds can actually be useful despite their reputation can be found in the back matter, along with a list both identifying and offering further facts about the plants pictured in the book.... Expect to have readers rooting and exploring for the ubiquitous plants."

February 2014 School Library Journal

2013-10-23
Adaptable weeds find ways to spread themselves and their seeds, to grow in strange places, and to be loved and admired. Mixed-media digital collage illustrations on double-page spreads follow a girl and her dog through a world of weeds, from seeds to flowers. Sometimes—as in an image of milkweed seeds shooting from a pod—these pictures focus on the weeds themselves; sometimes they include parts of the girl or dog; and some are full scenes. Weed seeds wait through a winter snow. They bake on hot sidewalks. They sprout "in a tangle of tree roots" and flower into "umbrellas of the finest white lace." Some shatter and spread when pulled; others avoid being eaten, thanks to thorns and poisons. The hand-lettered alliterative text provides a simple introduction to the idea of weeds. With very few lines to each page, it reads aloud smoothly. The author, a California-based nature educator, includes a "Meet the Weeds" afterword, defining them as plants growing where they aren't wanted and describing 24 common U.S. weeds, from dandelions to wild oats. A small, suggestive image accompanies each description. Neither formal introduction nor field guide, this unusual reminder of weeds' admirable qualities nevertheless merits a place on the nature-study shelf of preschool and early-elementary classrooms. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

02/01/2014
K-Gr 2—Instead of lamenting their pesky invasiveness, Jenson-Elliott celebrates weeds for their heartiness and ability to disseminate and adapt. Poetic imagery describes how they are "shot out of tight, dry pods like confetti from a popped balloon" and "baking in shimmering summer heat on a white-hot sidewalk without a whisper of wind"), and the bold colors of the mixed media/digital collage illustrations do an admirable job of making the ordinary become stunning. More detailed information about how weeds can actually be useful despite their reputation can be found in the back matter, along with a list both identifying and offering further facts about the plants pictured in the book. Looking for where the nodding thistle, oxeye daisy, spotted knapweed, etc., appear in the story will encourage repeated readings and offer more opportunities for learning. Expect to have readers rooting and exploring for the ubiquitous plants.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal