Jonathan Drori brings life to the science of 30 plants, revealing how their worlds are entwined with our own in this beautiful one-of-a-kind family book.
Did you know that there's seaweed in ice cream, cork in spacecraft and dandelion in truck tires? Have you wondered how paper or thread are made, or why the mandrake is so mysterious?
Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated, this book of wonder gives a young reader the knowledge of how the things we use every day are born from natural materials, and the surprising stories behind their creation.
Discover how: -Dandelions can turn into tires -Papyrus is pressed into paper -Cacao becomes chocolate -Baobab trees transform into rope -Cotton is spun into banknotes -Bamboo helps people as well as pandas -And much more!
With 30 beautifully crafted stories throughout history and from all around the world, this book entwines plant science with human history and technology and is a beautiful botanical gift to explore and treasure for readers 7-70 years.---from the publisher
64 pages 978-1917366069 Ages 7-10
Keywords: plants, science, how things work, Science Curriculum, natural resources, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old
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Did you know that plants are made from just two main ingredients - carbon dioxide and water? Recently, I sat in my local hairdressing salon mesmerised by half a dozen tiny fish swimming in and around the roots of a spathiphyllum that stood shiny and healthy in a tall cylinder of water - no soil, compost or anything else - and both fish and plant seemed very happy. (Of course, I had to try it at home - the plants are doing well, the fish not-so.) But as I read the intro of this fascinating book, one of those you don't know you want to read until you do, and learned that plants are basically CO2 and H2O with "just a smattering" of other nutrients from the soil, it was obvious why they were thriving in just water.
And yet, apart from the food we eat, we are dependent on plants in countless other ways - some of which are explored in this new release, many of them common, and others more obscure. Young readers will probably know that everyday stuff like tea and chocolate and sugar come from plants, but which plants give us fabric, perfumes and even the heatshield of the Space Shuttle? Why do Tasmania's Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus and the strange baobab Adansonia digitata each earn a place among the 30 entries? Why is there seaweed in our icecream and dandelions in our tyres?
Packed with stunning illustrations, cross-sections and diagrams, each entry has a large double page spread packed with all sorts of information including a lot that is unexpected, that will not only intrigue young readers but give them a whole new respect for the plants around them. They will begin to question where the things they are most familiar with originate from, understand the sustainability of items made from natural sources and perhaps appreciate that while plastic and its cousins may have been one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, it is the curse of the 21st.
This is one of those dip-and-delve books that will capture the imagination of any young reader with an interest in the world around them - even if all they do is put a plant in a vase of water and watch it thrive, put a white flower in a glass of water coloured with food dye, or even just sprinkle grass seed in a tray of potting mix in the shape of their initials and watch their name grow. There are so many simple things that can start a lifelong fascination. And Spring is the perfect time to start.
This review can also be found here.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
