"You think we plants do nothing -
just stand around all day with our
roots stuck in the ground.
We’re like green lampposts, right?
Well! We’d like to set a few things straight."
It should be obvious to each one of us that we could not survive without plants. The conversation given over to the friendly, though at times a touch brusque, plant narrators here has much to teach readers about the role that plants play in life on the planet. Plants and people need many of the same things, starting with food. People are mostly able to get around to get the food needed, while plants like tulips have to make their own. They start with water from below ground, carbon dioxide from the air, and the sun's energy; all help to create the sugar they need to grow. It makes plants renewable energy machines ... quite the 'superpower',
This conversational text provides easy to understand information for young readers. Added facts are placed on each double-page spread in a smaller font to further allow for more learning. If water is hard to find, plants use tricky business to find what they need. Like us, they need water to survive and they have many different ways to ensure they find it. Readers are then shown ways that plants know to defend themselves from their enemies and communicate one to the other.
"Plants have even more senses than animals do.
They need to be sensitive to their world because they
can't run away if they are under stress. But plants don't
concentrate their senses in one place like a nose or an ear.
Their sensory parts are spread out all over their bodies -
leaves, stems, flowers and roots. If a deer nips off a leaf, or
a gopher chews on a root, it's not so bad. The plant has more."
The mix of accurate facts and humorous material makes for a very engaging read while also providing new learning for many. The author advises that we must all be more attentive to the world around us and do our best to use more renewable energy if we want to live in a better world as we move into the future. Mixed-media artwork adds much appeal in colorful and detailed collages that cross multiple landscapes, and the brilliant plant life that lives alongside we humans who depend on it for our existence.
We are all connected.
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