Plant Attack! - by Erin Silver (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Just like people and animals, plants need to defend themselves.

They can't scream or run away from danger, but many have developed surprisingly cool and courageous ways to keep themselves safe from pesky bugs, hungry animals and even large-clawed crabs. Plants can stab, poison, drown and even suffocate their predators. Discover the corpse flower, which smells like a combination of rotting wounds, garlic, cheese and sour sweat. Then there is the touch-me-not balsam that explodes, flinging anything that touches it through the air. Plant Attack! The Fascinating Ways Flora Defend Themselves explores 15 different plants and the unique, and sometimes bizarre, ways they defend themselves from predators, including us.

Praise for Erin Silver:

★"Enthralling...Empowers readers to understand their own human coping mechanisms, while colorful, detailed images soaked in softly muted earth tones build a base of strong general knowledge. The challenge for readers young and old will be to see who says 'ew' first! A thoroughly engaging, fact-filled book with audacious and memorable animal responses to predators. A must-have for every library."--School Library Journal, starred review for Mighty Scared

From the Back Cover

These plants put up a fight!

Plants can't scream or run away from danger, but they do have some tricks up their stems. The corpse flower smells like, you guessed it, rotting wounds, and the touch-me-not balsam explodes!

Explore 15 plants that can stab, poison, drown or use other unique and sometimes bizarre ways to defend themselves from predators, including you!

Review Quotes

"Readers are made aware of 13 plant species and the defense mechanisms they have to protect themselves when faced with danger...Some plants are familiar and others not so. It's always fun to learn something new."

"Digitally created illustrations are bold, bright and animated, allowing readers to imagine the plants in their typical habitat. Cartoon-style drawings also give them 'personalities' to go along with the kid-friendly plant POV paragraphs, a strategy that may help kids remember specific plant attributes. A good introduction to a fascinating aspect of plant biology, highlighting characteristics that many may know little about. Highly recommended."

"McLaughlin's bright and lively digital illustrations depict all the plants on the opening spread. At times, the artwork personifies both flora and fauna, to readers' delight. Entertaining."

About the Author

Erin Silver is an award-winning children's author and freelance writer. Her books for children include Rush Hour: Navigating Our Global Traffic Jam (Blueberry Award winner), Sitting Shiva (Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor, Vine Award finalist, TD Canadian Children's Literature Award finalist), Good Food, Bad Waste: Let's Eat for the Planet (long listed for the 2024 AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books), Mighty Scared: The Amazing Ways Animals Defend Themselves, In It to Win It: Sports and the Climate Crisis and All Consuming: Shop Smarter for the Planet. Erin lives in Toronto.

Julie McLaughlin is an award-winning illustrator of numerous children's books, including Pride Puppy!, Little Cloud, and Why We Live Where We Live, winner of the 2015 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. She also illustrated three books in the Orca Think series: What Animals Want, Breaking News and Fresh Air, Clean Water. Her work with various editorial, advertising and publishing clients can be seen around the world. Julie grew up on the Prairies and now resides on Vancouver Island.