Review by Booklist Review
HEY, YOU! PSST! DOWN HERE! THAT'S RIGHT I'M A PLANT, AND I'M TALKING TO YOU! The brash narrator of this picture book is a small cactus with an attitude. Though prickly to the point of grouchiness, it's knowledgeable and entertaining, as well. It explains that, rooted in place, many plants need animals to carry pollen from one flower to another, enabling them to make seeds. To attract birds, bees, butterflies, and the like, they advertise using colors as signs. The cactus tells which colors, forms, and smells attract which animals, then tells listeners to take a hike while its bud opens into a yellow blossom. Based on the flower's color, attentive kids may be able to guess which animals it will attract. The digitally enhanced paintings feature vivid splashes of color. An appended page, precisely illustrated with cross-sectional views and labelled with botanical terms, details the process of pollination. A good companion volume for Rebecca Hirsch's Plants Can't Keep Still (2016), this cleverly written and informative picture book is a lively choice for reading aloud.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A plant who looks like a cross between a purple monster and a prickly pear directly addresses readers, explaining how plants communicate to pollinators: "To make a seed, we need pollen from a different plant of our same type. How do we get that? We can't just waltz over and take some. That's why we need animals." D'yans illustrates garden-variety flowers and insects in vibrant, swooshing watercolors. Levine offers accessible insights into plant life and the mutualism between plants and animals, though the narrator's casual bluntness ("It's time for you to leave now. Go take a hike") can feel at odds with the science-based content and more delicate visual elements. Ages 7-11. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A crotchety cactus explains how flowers use color, shape, and even smell to attract pollinators. Flowers aren't talking to humans; they're talking to animals, those animals that can help them make their seeds through pollination. The text covers only cross-pollination; self-pollination is mentioned in the back matter. The narrator reveals which pollinators are attracted to what: red colors for birds; blue, purple, and yellow for bees; a perfumed white for moths and bats; stinky brown for flies; and a nice steady platform in many colors for butterflies. Green flowers appear on plants pollinated by wind. And the cactus adds, "Blue and purple flowers are saying: `Yo, bee! Could you help me move some of this pollen? And take some home for the kids!'" D'yans's watery paintings are especially appropriate for the subject, providing realistic variations in shading and revealing a gentle humor-the cactus drinks tea with a tea bag hanging rakishly from an ear; a bee has blossoms instead of stars in its eyes. For older readers, back matter explains pollination in more detail, with illustrations of pistils and stamens and developing seeds in the flower's ovary. A final note explains that some pollinators are endangered and suggests ways to help. There's also a short list of further reading. VERDICT Similar to Rita Gray's Flowers Are Calling, with a slightly more prickly appeal. Consider this a strong choice for most nonfiction shelves.-Kathleen Isaacs, Children's -Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Narrated by a sassy purple prickly pear cactus, this playful, informative book about pollination teaches budding botanists how to interpret plant colors (e.g., yellow flowers say: "Bees, bargain basement this way--free food!"). D'yans's watercolors--featuring flowers, insects, and wide-eyed birds--are overly busy but burst with colors and textures as each page imparts science facts. Pollination steps and tips for protecting pollinators are appended. Reading list. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Readers learn the relationship between the colors of flowers and pollination.With a googly-eyed cactus as her narrator, Levine explains why flowers need help with pollination from animals and why it's key to the survival of plants. Since most plants need pollen from other plants of their own species to fertilize their seeds, their colors "advertise" their plants' attraction to pollinating creatures. The text characterizes these adaptations as deception: "We trick them into carrying [pollen] for us. We're nice about it, thoughwe pay them a little something for their efforts." Intriguing facts surface: Red flowers appeal mainly to birds, since insects can't see red. White flowers, often scented, are luminous to nocturnal moths and bats. The stinky smells of brown flowers lure flies. Green flowers, being wind-pollinated, don't need to "talk" to animals. Using personification to convey science concepts to children is endemicand the snarky narration will find fans. Two spreads on flowers that attract bees depict only bumblebees and honeybees, missing an opportunity to give readers a sense of the many families of bees. A labeled flower diagram does not identify the antheronly the pollen that sits atop it. D'yans' digital-and-watercolor illustrations, while often lovely, emphasize vibrant color and aggregated species arrays, not scientific verisimilitude. The pictured plant and animal species go largely unidentified, leaving readers puzzling.A casual introduction to the topic, with resources for further study. (pollination facts and diagrams, protecting pollinators, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
