I'm a big fan of science books with story. In the classroom, this would be a great book for students to peruse themselves, or to read a chapter or two to the class for different biology subjects. It would even be a great lead in to the scientific process, because there are quite a few experiments documented in here for students to look at to understand the plants better. If you could manage to get your hands on some of these plants (like the vampire vine), it would be a fascinating experiment for class. ( )

Well, this was just freakin' fascinating. But don't read it or listen to the audio when you're eating or if you're feeling squeamish, because some of this plants are downright vichyssoisse! (What I call vicious.)

The most fascinating to me is kudzu, which I didn't know much about before this book. I only knew it was invasive but I had no idea it could grow so fast, overtake cars or be made into a delicious jelly! Who knew?!

This book is suitable for adults and young scientists looking to learn more. I especially appreciate the author's note at the end. about how to be a respectful and conscientious plant person.

Note: Listened to via Netgalley's recent audiobook feature, with much gratitude.

When Plants Attack
Strange and Terrifying Plants
by Rebecca E. Hirsch
This was a fiendishly good listen that will keep anyone entertained, especially kids! I liked the stinging tree that is so powerful in its punch that it made a soldier shoot himself after he wiped his bottom with the stinging leaves! Ouch! That had to be painful! Nature is tough! She doesn't meds around! I thank NetGalley for the chance to gain insights into Mother Nature's creepy plants! Very interesting!
Great narration! ( )

When I first saw this, I immediately thought of Rebecca Johnson's 2014 title, When lunch fights back. That title focused primarily on animals, but with a similar layout, and finished with a brief mention of how some plants seem to use a kind of thought process to fight back against creatures trying to eat them. This book starts where Lunch left off with the many clever defenses of plants.

Of course there's the traditionally carnivorous plants, pitcher plants, Venus fly traps, and so forth, but Hirsch goes beyond this with the horrifically painful and sometimes deadly stinging tree, the clever defense of the thorn acacia, which protects itself from elephants by attracting stinging ants, or the apparently inadvertent killer, the Pisonia grandis, which sticks its seeds to seabirds in such numbers that it kills many of them, littering the ground about with corpses and skeletons.

Hirsch goes beyond anecdotes and dramatic tales of deadly plants to question how and why plants developed these defenses, how they use them, and what it means for considering how plants react, behave, or even think. Extensive back matter includes an author's note, source notes, glossary, bibliography, further reading, websites, and videos, and an index.

Verdict: The dramatic cover and introduction will draw in reluctant readers who will find themselves learning quite a bit about plants - and scientific research - as they devour the gruesome stories of plant defenses and survival tricks. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781541526709; Published January 2019 by Milbrook; Borrowed from another library in my consortium