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

by Loreen Leedy, Andrew Schuerger

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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Science, Plants

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Loreen Leedy is the author and illustrator of over 40 picture books with math, science, language arts, and other curriculum content. Her books showcase information in a kid-friendly format, often with characters and entertaining stories.

Honors and awards for her books include: ALA Notable Book, Science Books and Films finalist, Reading Rainbow feature book, Chicago Library Best of the Best, many Scholastic Book Fair selections, Florida Book Award, Parent's Choice Award, many Junior Library Guild selections, and Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association.

Loreen has spoken at hundreds of schools and many conferences such as the International Reading Association, the American Library Association, the Mazza Summer Conference, and the UVU Engaged Reading Forum.

She lives in central Florida with her husband Andy, who is a scientist and a cat named Knickers who has an easily triggered purrometer. They love to travel, read, and watch movies.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun way to demonstrate how different plants are able to survive. It introduces plants adapted to survive in dry environments and wet, how they survive fire and storms, how they prevent insects and animals from eating them and many other adaptations. A great addition to our living and nonliving unit.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent non-fiction book by artist/author Loreen Leedy covering many of the elementary TEKS on plant plants, their parts, their functions, as well as their adaptations. Cartoon-style digital paintings are paired with photographs by Andrew Schuerger in a way that is sure to engage readers ages 5-10. Simple text will allow even young and/or struggling readers to grasp concepts such as photosynthesis and pollination. Bold text emphasizes important vocabulary words that are included in the book's glossary. Highly recommended for libraries serving students in the target age group.

[Sushie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suffers from the common ailment kid-nonfiction info overload, each page is crammed full of text and pictures and facts and commentary from the cactus and the three little potted plants- its all too much at once.

[Heather Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

megan summer reading 2017, children's book, picture book, nonfiction, non-fiction, plants, biology, how they grow, second grade, third grade,

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Photos and illustrations and small bites of interesting facts about plants loosely held together by an idea that plants have super powers.

[Debra McEathron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an upper elementary level book that discusses all types of plants and how they survive. the illustrations are wonderful and it is easy to understand.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a lot of fun in an elementary science class!

[Courtney Torrent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text has great illustrations that could really be used in the classroom to teach students about plants! The text and illustration live up to the title and really teaches the reader how plants fly, fight, hide, hunt, and change the world. The "narrator" of the text is this cute cactus, which makes it fun to read the information throughout the text. I learned quite a bit while reading ;). There were a lot of labeled illustrations that reinforce the text on the page. The reader can learn a lot just by reading the captions. There is so much to learn from this text! This would be great to pair/connect with science class. I want this text for my classroom in the future. In the back, there are some plant projects and a glossary. I would love to do all the projects with my students: plant power scavenger hunt, my plant power, plants for lunch, and kitchen scrap garden. I especially like "my plant power" which involves students imagining a plant power that they have and writing a story. They have to tie in what would be good and bad about that power as well. The illustrations definitely help make this text fun :)

[Abby Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a good basic overview of plants and different coping mechanisms they have for dealing with the different environmental conditions they face. It starts with an overview of plant parts and photosynthesis and then shows how plants have adapted to grow in water, low soil conditions, extreme cold and heat, etc. Each spread is colorful with cute commentary from cartoon flowers and several photos of different plants illustrating different concepts (e.g. a photo of a pine tree with the text "Trees that are cone shaped can shed heavy snow."

Because the book is an overview of a VERY broad topic, I occasionally found the captions a little confusing. For example, next to the photo of a banana plant, it says "Wild bananas have large seeds." but it doesn't show a photo of the banana seed (which may be confusing to young readers since the typical bananas we eat do not have seeds).

All in all, this is an appealing overview of plants and would serve as a good introduction to the variety of plant life in the world.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book it covers plants from their parts, to how they survive, and what they can do in and for the world. The format will catch the interest of students as it presents the information in the format of a TV show exposing all the super powers that plants have. The illustrations are simple line drawings with vivid color to help them stand out. Teachers should use this book to teach important concepts about plants in a fun kid friendly format. The glossary follows the same format that includes important words to know as well as some fun facts using the same simple plant pictures. There are other fun activities and resources to be found on the Loreen Leedy website. There are also some delightful activities for kids as part of the information found at the end of the book. It does not end there even on the last page there is another fun fact that is drawn and written around the copyright information-its an interesting idea and makes the very last page a part of the narrative.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loreen Leedy knows how to do good nonfiction and this colorful book is no exception. A cactus talk show host presents interesting plant information, with comments by three other plants interspersed. Readers learn about plant parts, photosynthesis, what plants need, and the various habitats in which they can be found. Plant adaptations are highlighted. Plant reproduction, and how seeds are carried, are covered as well. Readers also learn about the importance of plants in our world. That's a lot to cover, but the author does it in a breezy, interesting way, and the bright photographs and illustrations complement the text perfectly. School libraries will want this book in their collections.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narrator Spike E. Prickles (a cactus) takes young readers on an entertaining trip through the parts of a plant, and photosynthesis shown through a descriptive effectively labeled double spread diagram, effectively labeled. The rest of the book focuses on challenges plants face, explaining their natural defenses for combating their enemies. Along the way the plant characters make animated amusing comments. Because of the many spot photographs and cartoons, youngsters will devour this title by themselves. This is a non fiction informational title that makes learning about plants fun AND easy to comprehend.

[Tim Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of nice photos and information. The format/layout doesn't seem conducive to sitting down and reading the book to a child, much less a group of children. It would probably be fun for a parent and child to read together however. At the end there is a list of extension activities and a nice, concise glossary. Appropriate for the 4-7 age group but more of a book for one-on-one parent/child reading.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty spiffy book that stands out from other kids' nonfiction about the same subject. The illustrations are engaging, but the text and pictures work together in a way that other books don't use to full advantage. I like how the book was divided into "powers" rather than habitats - it's a new and interesting twist that presents the information in a cool light!

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spike, the cactus narrator, shows and tells every amazing thing that plants do. Friendly layout, easy to read text, cute sidekicks: tulip, daisy, and a succulent. Plant projects included, don't miss fun fact on very last page.

[XIS Grade 3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it because it shows special things about plants. (May)
This book has many interesting plants. Some of them eat insects. (Oscar)