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Prezler, June. 2009. Meat-eating plants and other extreme plant life. Read by Charity Jones and Patrick Olson. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (audiobook version)

About 20 minutes

Yes, this is an odd choice for an audiobook review, but there are reasons.  My mp3 player was empty.  I needed a quick downloadable audiobook for my commute.  My daughter recently performed in the pit band for a local performance of "Little Shop of Horrors," and, in addition to the obligatory, closing night bouquet, she received, a meat-eating plant! (It has since become the only one of my thirty or so houseplants  which my husband holds in any regard.  He even bought a companion plant.  We now own Fred and Wilma, the Venus fly traps.  But I digress.)

Meat-Eating Plants and other Extreme Plant Life is part of the Capstone's FactFinders series for younger readers - Grades 3-5.  (Complete reading level information is available from the publisher) It begins, of course, with the Venus Fly Trap, a great way to grab the reader's (or listener's) attention.  Did you know that their leaves are "spring-loaded," and snap shut with the aid of a forceful stream of water shot from within the plant?  And how about the Pitcher Plant? Did you know that it has been known to trap a mouse?!  The first few chapters deal with all manner of "extreme plants," and their prey.

Later chapters explain the photosynthesis process, but in a way that kids will find interesting.  Rather than dwell on the process for a simple house or garden plant, Prezler explains the process for plants adapting to extreme circumstances - intense temperatures, lack of sunlight, etc.  The deviations are so much more interesting than the norms!

Also included is the role of plants on earth (and in space!). Plants are tested on the International Space Station and are seen as key in any attempt to colonize space. If it weren't for plants, we wouldn't have meat to eat, or clean air to breathe. Plants have numerous and quite interesting ways to travel and propagate themselves.

If this book doesn't awaken an interest in plants, nothing will.  It features meat-eating, poop-eating, and poop-traveling plants - what more can you ask for? Meat-Eating Plants doesn't translate easily to an audiobook format, however - photographs are a must for this type of book (in at least one instance, a caption is read for a photo that the listener cannot see).  The simple text is made more interesting with the employ of two narrators, one male and one female.  Patrick Olson reads each word very precisely - even using the long A sound for each instance of the word "a."  I found it slightly irritating, but in truth, his exacting pronunciation would likely make this a great companion audiobook for struggling or reluctant readers to use in tandem with the text copy. 

Bottom line - for plants, this is about as interesting as it gets, however, the book version makes a better choice than the audiobook.  For struggling readers, choose the audiobook as accompaniment for the book.

Download a free sample MP3 for this title

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Flark:  a long pool of water between two strings, or ridges, of peat.
Hummock:  a small, round, raised mound of peat moss in a bog

Unfortunately, most of us have never had the opportunity to visit a bog, or if you're like me, you most likely don't know much about them...until now.

Big Belching Bog will take your young readers on a fantastic journey through the Eco-system of a bog with its many hidden mysteries.  For example, did you know many species of birds, butterflies and plants call this place home?  Or that the water is so acidic in a bog that only one species of frog (the Wood Frog) can tolerate and flourish in its waters?

Big Belching Bog by Phyllis Root is a wonderful look at a real-life bog.  She has written this tale not only to be educational, but to be fun and mysterious (find out why it belches).  The illustrations by Betsy Bowen are bold and bright and will have your little reader riveted to the pages as the story unfolds.

Check out Big Belching Bog at the University of Minnesota Press or Amazon

You read my review, now check out the sneak peek trailer of Big Belching Bog

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How Does a Seed Grow? by Sue Kim, photographs by Tilde

A visually interesting book all about seeds, sprouts and the harvest.  Each page is dedicated to one kind of seed complete with photographs of the seeds.  That then unfolds to show a large photograph of the seedling in a cutaway format that shows below the ground to the roots and up above the ground for the leaves.  Readers then unfold the page one more time to see a photograph of a child holding the fruit or vegetable.  The text is very simple and rhyming.  The illustrations are the heart of this book.  It is a book guaranteed to fascinate children not only with the unfolding pages but with the details of the seeds and seedlings.

The book covers tomatoes, blueberries, bell peppers, peas and oranges.  The brief rhymes do give a sense of the needs of plants from loose dirt to warmth to water and sunshine.  Readers will enjoy looking at the differences in the shapes and sizes of the seeds and the different ways that the seeds grow.  The children pictured with the fruits and vegetables are multicultural.  One quibble is that some of the pictures are a little blurred, which is noticeable when compared with the crispness of the other images. 

This book will work well in a classroom setting or in a story time focused on spring and plants.  The foldout pages will not survive circulation at a library for long unless they are reinforced with tape.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

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The King and the Seed by Eric Maddern, illustrated by Paul Hess

King Karnak has no heir and is coming to the end of his reign.  So he puts out a call for anyone who wants to be king to come and join in a competition.  Knights come from across the land, ready for the battle to begin.  But the king surprises them all by handing each one of them a seed and asking them to bring it back in six months to show what they have grown.  A boy, Jack, who came only to witness the competition, gets a seed for himself.  Jack tries and tries to make his seed grow, but nothing works and six months later he heads back to the castle.  There he finds the knights with armloads of plants, huge flowers, all different from one another.  Jack doesn’t want to admit his defeat to the king, so what’s a boy to do?

Maddern’s storytelling has a great flair, filled with small touches and humor that really bring the story to life.  The book has a strong message that is not overdone.  It also has a classic folk tale format that is mixed with a modern storytelling style, creating a very engaging book.  Hess’ illustrations are bright-colored and offer interesting perspectives on the action.  They will work well with a group.

Ideal for reading aloud, this book is a great modern folktale that emphasizes the importance of honesty.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

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A Seed Was Planted by Toulla Palazeti, illustrated by Pamela Barcita

From a single seed being planted, people share shoots of the plant.  With friends, neighbors and family members who each take it in turn, plant it and then pass on a shoot to another person.  The book uses the refrain of “It grows,” as each person plants their shoot.  In the end, the small plants grow and grown until they are trees large enough to climb.  The book speaks to the wonder of seeds, the power of sharing and the way that one small idea can lead to transformation.

Author Palazeti keeps the text very simple with only one sentence per page.  This makes it ideal for new readers of both English and Spanish.  This simplicity of language belies the depth of the story and its gentle and powerful message.  Barcita’s illustrations are realistic and very friendly.  Readers get to see each sharing of the tree along with a framed image of the newly potted shoot.  The different pot styles and settings speak firmly to our differences as well as our commonalities. 

Recommended for new readers in either English or Spanish, this book is universal in its message and appeal.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

This book comes in both English and bilingual English/Spanish.  I reviewed from an ARC of the bilingual version that I received from the publisher.

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My name is Lynette, and I'm a painter/drawer from the mid-west United States. I'm happy to be a new member of SFG and look forward to posting with you and seeing all of your work. I put myself in the magic realist category and enjoy working in acrylic, egg tempera, charcoal and graphite. This is an acrylic painting called Labyrinth that is an approximate self portrait. If you'd like to visit my blog, Mythmaking from the Other Side, the address is: http://lynettesartblog.blogspot.com Thanks for inviting me to be a member!

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jenlibrarian is gathering flowers for a virtual birthday bouquet. She asked for our favorite flowers. Well heck, here I am in the middle of planning my native garden, no flowers at all at the moment, and she wants me to pick just one? I can't I tell you, I just can't. 

California has so many beautiful native flowers that it really hard to just pick one to highlight. Consistently though my heart warms when I think of the sturdy yet stunning and dependable Ceanothus, the native California Liliac. 

 

the colors range from deep blue to lilac to white.

 

 

What I love about this plant is how I can ignore it and it rewards me with evergreen beauty and beautiful blossoms. Plant it in the fall, water it once a week the first year (in the summer), maybe once a month in the summer the second year, and after that, you can pretty much ignore it. The birds and the bees love it. 

The plant, the Ceanothus, and the more well-known Poppy, are the two plants that say California to me.

Happy birthday, Jen!

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This one starts out sounding as dark as any middle-grade dog story but lightens up at the end in typical Grimm fashion. Old Sultan is a dog, a toothless wonder who has outlived his days, is slated to be taken out into the fields and shot the next day by the farmer. Overhearing this to dog trots off to the forest to whine to his cousin, a wolf. The wolf has an idea: the next day the wolf will

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