As someone with a deep appreciation for plants, I was naturally drawn to Pretty Tricky: The Secret Lives of Plants, a delightful non-fiction picture book that explores the fascinating world of plant behavior. This book combines engaging text with vibrant illustrations to introduce young readers to the amazing ways plants interact with their environment.

The book’s presentation is both informative and captivating, making complex concepts accessible and interesting. It’s an excellent choice for educators and parents looking to introduce children to non-fiction in a fun and educational way. The content covers a range of intriguing topics, such as how plants defend themselves, where different plants grow naturally, and the process of plant reproduction.

One of the highlights of the book is its unique cut-paper collage illustrations. The Venus flytrap, in particular, is depicted in a way that immediately draws the eye and captures attention. These illustrations are colorful and vividly executed, adding a visual appeal that enhances the learning experience. However, it would have been even better to include actual photos of the plants to provide a more realistic reference.


Pretty Tricky offers a variety of plant-related topics through engaging fact bubbles and detailed explanations. The back of the book is especially useful, featuring information on how flowering plants make seeds, how plants produce food, and a glossary of scientific terms. It also includes an index and a list of sources for further exploration.

Overall, this book is a captivating resource that will likely delight both kids and adults. It invites readers into the world of tricky, sneaky plants with a clear, well-written narrative and a touch of curiosity. Despite a few minor issues, it’s a visually stunning and educational addition to any classroom or library, and I highly recommend it for those interested in the remarkable ways plants thrive and survive.

I feel like I learned so much about plants in this book! I really loved all the illustrations and just the sheer number of plants discussed in this book blew me away.

Pretty Tricky by Etta Kaner is a wonderful read that I enjoyed with my children. The book is beautifully illustrated. My boys (9 and 7) loved learning about al the different plants, and animal adaptations to plants. This is a great book when you want to know more about plants. I do not have a green thumb - but I enjoyed learning facts about plants.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book -- all thoughts are my own.

Stimulate wonder and the child will learn easily!

A fantastic book on the most extraordinary survival defense adaptations of plants. The way they camouflage themselves, deceive their predators or parasites, protect themselves from being eaten, the symbiosis, their successful associations with pollinators and seed spreaders.

It is a book that complements very well the child education on the understanding of evolutionary biology. The Phylum Plantae is indeed very old, the oldest known fossil is around 400 million years old. In addition to being beautiful and captivating, they are important in sustaining all life on the planet. The Life Science study is very important for children, since it has allowed man to be able to overcome diseases, to adapt to the environment, to obtain fibers and timber resources, food and pigments, supplies for pharmacology, to implement agriculture and agriculture. biotechnology.

Ashley Barron's splendid paper cut illustrations are so colorful and full of texture. And coupled with Alisa Baldwin's design, the result is fabulous. The educational quality that Owl Kids books offers us is excellent to complement the Life Science subject.


My sincere appreciation to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book

'Pretty Tricky' takes something mundane to the point that we barely notice them in our day to day life - plants - and gives our perspective a nice twist. How have they adapted? How do they survive? It is not as straightforward as you may imagine. The only nitpick that botanists may have is that there are only illustrations - but they are vibrant and beautiful (no pictures of actual specimens).

I received an electronic ARC from Owlkids Books through NetGalley.
Information shared in ways that appeal to elementary level readers. Kaner shows the various methods plants use to survive and grow. Brightly colored pages pull readers in.
Resource book for students who want to explore plants and a jumping off book for further research.

It is an interesting approach to have a nonfiction book about plants illustrated with papercuts rather than photos of the actual featured plants. And I am not sure that I prefer it. That said, the features of each plant are interestingly presented and Ashley Barron’s colourful illustrations of passion flower vines, giant water lilies, mirror orchids, scarlet mistletoe, starfish flower and all the other plants and the insects and birds that go with them are gorgeous. I would happily frame many of them and hang them around my home. I love the cover and the illustration of snapdragons and bees is among my favourites.

I read a digital proof of Pretty Tricky via NetGalley and the publisher, Owlkids Books.

I love plants, so it was a natural pick to grab this book. Especially since it's a sweet, non-fiction picture book!

The information is presented in a very informative yet interesting way. I was hooked to every word and was honestly interested. I think this book would be a great way for educators or parents to read to their children and use a non-fiction book in the process. It's absolutely great for learning.

Kids can learn how plants defend themselves, where certain plants naturally grow, and plant reproduction, among other cool topics!

The illustrations are super cool - especially the Venus fly trap. It stood out to me instantly and pulled my attention in. They have a cool cut paper textile that makes it super intriguing and attention grabbing.

Overall, I really liked this book! It's informative, and as someone with a green thumb I found it super interesting!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Beautiful cut paper illustrations accompany well-researched fun facts about animal adaptations. Next best thing to actual photographs, and at times more aesthetically pleasing. Would work well alongside learning about evolution/survival of the fittest/plant biology.

Great illustrations and awesome book to use in a classroom when discussing botany. It will hold your students’ attention and will keep them interested. I highly recommend!

Fascinating. This is a beautifully illustrated book about unusual plant behavior. Adults and children will enjoy this book. I alway womdered why mimosa trees responded to touch but never got around to actually looking into it. Although the illustrations are outstanding, I wish photos of each plant could be included at the end of the book.

Pretty Tricky was a very informative book about the ways plants survive through defense, trickery, and imitation. The text was detailed without being overly wordy, providing enough information to understand the plant's defense while not overwhelming a young reader. The illustrations were amazing! The paper collage images were not only beautiful and detailed, they definitely helped the reader understand the concepts being explained in the text. The informational and geographical blurbs provided additional information without being a distraction from the main text. Students of all ages will find this text engaging and interesting while teachers and librarians can use it to help students build background knowledge and to promote further research on plants and how they survive.

The illustrations are gorgeous! They are paired with a great scientific narrative, making a book that is irresistible.

Clever way to present topic with lively accurate text and kid appealing art. Great for younger pre-school STEM projects. Will be purchasing for my library

Wow, what a stunning science text! Gorgeous, vibrant pictures are contained without to accompany the unique facts about how plants utilize their environments and creatures to their benefit. I would recommend this for children age 7 and up.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

This fascinating non-fiction book will be a winner with kids ( and adults too ) I'm sure. The author takes you into the amazing world of tricky, sneaky plants. Even the title peaks curiosity and invites kids in to discover the unimaginable ways that plants survive.

The text is clear and well written. Kids will not only learn pertinent facts regarding these natural wonders but will find the book highly entertaining as well.

A variety of plants are documented and described through fact bubbles. The back of the book includes: how flowering plants make seeds, how plants make food, an index, a glossary of scientific terms and a list of selected sources enabling readers to explore even deeper.

The cut-paper collage illustrations are colourful, vibrant and beautifully done. This book would be perfect to include in a classroom or elementary school library. I personally learned a lot and I highly, highly recommend it.

Do you know of anyone who has a green thumb or is wanting to learn about fascinating plants? This book then may be for you if you want a quick yet informative read that explores some of the more interesting plants that you may or may not know about.

The writing is simple and brief throughout the book but still very informative. As a result the reader gets a generalized introduction as well as a summarized paragraph for each of the sections. From there the book explores in-depth each plant by givings its key points and strategies in how it sneakily survives every day threats.

Furthermore the author includes in the back an index, small glossary and a selection of further reads all on the last page. Quite a nice add-on for science class.

The illustrations were a gorgeous collage with beautiful details and colors. Althoughly brightly colored it is also quite subtle but not so much that it takes away. Artwise this is definitely a keeper for its portrayal.

The only thing that I have to complain about the book is just the tone of the book. It starts off as an educational read with a bit of some subject-related puns that even though eye-rolling for the most cynical was a bit of a break from the serious tone. Unfortunately after just about two or three jokes it chose that it wasn't going to attempt a comedy routine but an informative read focused on addressing children.

All in all it was a decent read and one that would make for a good addition to any science-based library for children or even for adults who don't mind children's books.

***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

Colorful, inviting collages illuminate clear-cut descriptions of the many, varied, ingenious ways that plants have adapted to survive. Index, glossary, sources.

This book is incredibly interesting! If you were trying to get your kids interested in gardening/plants or if you were going to do a unit on plants and want to inspire some interest - this is the book for you! This book is chock-full of fascinating plants!

The book itself is PRETTY TRICKY! (See what I did there?) I can see where detailing the weird and awesome defense tactics of these plants would intrigue BOYS and active children that may otherwise be uninterested. The illustrations are also an interesting choice instead of photographs. It is a book full of facts, so you would expect photographs, but I decided that it was another tricky trick & may keep kids interested with the lovely pictures and colors!

Really fun book full of interesting facts! Completely original and informative!

5 brilliantly tricky stars!

YOU need this book if you want to inspire an interest in nature/plant study!

Suggested Activities:
Try to find some of these plants outside!
Buy one of these plants and plant it in the garden (Snapdragons?)
If you can find/buy a venus fly trap kids will think it is super cool!
Have your child make up their own plant with its own defenses! Draw a picture detailing the plant and its defense tactics.
Be a venus fly trap and kill all the flies! (lol)
Snapdragon art

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Have you ever thought about the ways plants can adapt and change to ensure survival? Pretty Tricky teaches us some of the sly things different plants can do to promote their survival.

The facts are written in easily understandable language. This book would be a great supplemental part of a science curriculum or for a student who prefers nonfiction books. I would recommend this book for libraries and classrooms, as well as at home for students who are science-enthusiasts

Thank you to Etta Kane’s, OwlKids, and NetGalley for an electronic galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.