Okay, I am NEVER LEAVING MY HOUSE AGAIN.
Who knew plants could be so terrifying??

Out of the eight plants they talked about, I had only heard of two of them.

While this is technically a children's book, I would give it to anyone with an interest in aggressive plants. I found myself totally engrossed and couldn't put it down.
It's set up like a criminal rap sheet, with each chapter talking about a different plant, it's aliases, and usual methods.
It's an excellent place to start learning, no matter your age!

That being said, I would recommend using judgement when giving it. These plants are all "killers" for a reason and some may enjoy with morbid curiosity, while others may be upset by the death of everything from small cute animals up to actual people.


I listened to the audio version of this and it was excellent. There is something to be gained from reading a physical copy and getting to see pictures of the actual plants, but there is no loss in listening! The writing is excellent, the author describes everything so well that a Google search of the plant always showed exactly what I'd been picturing!
You really can't go wrong with this book in any form

Goosebumps has nothing on nature! Science writer and plant expert, Rebecca Hirsch has put together a deliciously sinister book for young kids about the nasty plant life that isn’t necessarily as beautiful as it first seems.
The narration is slow so younger listeners can keep up as Hirsch outlines eight different species of plants that can be deadly or harming to the wildlife surrounding it. So as not to terrify the young audience completely, she explains how plants that “kidnap, murder and invade” don't have a brain to plot and plan. They're on an instinctive quest to survive only, and she backs this up with stories that demonstrate how each of the plants attack in self defence only.
Her stories cover a good variety of plant types and locations, including the Australian stinging tree (Gympie), which is considered to be the most painful plant of the world due to the poison in it’s stingers. She also covers an African tree that houses ants to protect itself from elephants, the Venus Flytrap, a carnivorous King Pitcher, the Pisonia tree (known as a bird catcher), a sinister vampire vine and an invasive kudzu climbing vine.
The stories are factual, creepy and fun. They are sure to delight young listeners and their significant adults alike, while educating both age groups quite a bit.
Running at just over an hour, When Plants Attack is a wonderful launchpad for children and adults to spend some fun time learning and laughing with their own further investigations into the darker side of nature.

We were amazed from start to finish!

The voice of the narrator is very pleasant, with a great rhythm for children. My son and I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, together we learned interesting defensive adaptations that stand out for their efficacy from some little-known plant species (with a few exceptions).

It is a great audiobook to complement the Life Science class and for children to better understand some of the successful evolutionary strategies of this Phylum. In homeschooling, I like to use materials and activities that amaze my child, engage his interest, and stimulate his restless curiosity to learn more, and this material is an excellent resource for doing so.

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

My 9 year old devoured this in one night! We usually read some of a chapter book but we saw this and had to listen.

Hearing about all the plants and what they could do kept him interested and entertained for the whole hour it played.

**I received and voluntarily listened to an ARC audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I love plants, so I was excited to be able to listen and review this audiobook. It contains a great selection of dangerous plants from around the world and lists each plant's general location, history, and eating habits!

While I had heard of the Venus flytrap, a lot of the plants were new to me, which made this book even better. Usually with children's books I've heard a lot of the information, so it was incredible to heard so much new information.

Growing up in the southern US, I've lived around kudzu all of my life, and I learned more from this book than I did growing up around the stuff. I especially look forward to trying to find some recipes to see if I can put it to use.

5/5 stars. Even though this is listed as children's nonfiction, even adults can enjoy this book.

When Plants Attack is an informative nonfiction children’s book about dangerous plants. There is a lot of information in this short book. The book discusses many plants. Each section about a plant is informative and gives a lot of information in a short section. This book is great for anyone that wants to learn about plants. This is a children’s book so anyone that knows a lot about plants will probably not enjoy the basic information provided. Anyone even adults that wants an introduction to these plants will enjoy When Plants Attack.

The narration fit well with the book and I am glad I listened to the audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley and Lerner Audiobooks/Lerner Digital for When Plants attack.

As a rule I’m not usually very interested in non-fiction, but this was different. This audiobook is so informative, interesting and enjoyable to listen to. The information is presented in a way that is easy to understand and the description is so in depth that you are able to picture exactly what is happening Or what the plant looks like even without access to pictures. I will definitely be looking at similar books by the author.

Audiobook review:

I really enjoyed this book – When Plants Attack!

It was well paced and the narrator really suited the book too and showed great enthusiasm when she was reading. I listened to it on sitting.

The book covers a good variety of species and it really does get over the point that plants aren’t always harmless and just lovely to look at, they are all fascinating, weird and a little bizarre - and the Stinging Tree sounds particularly nasty!!

It is 5 stars from me for this one, I love books like this – very highly recommended!!

Plants Aren’t Always Lovely

Audiobook Review:

Some plants have evolved some brilliant ways to defend themselves and actually take down what might be predators or perhaps just lunch! These plants can be everything from ones as small as houseplant up to entire trees. One of the first ones talked about is the stinging tree, native to Australia. One touch of this can actually cause acute pain for weeks, and the pain may sometimes recur now and then for years. We also learn about a few more familiar ones like the Venus flytrap. Each plant chapter is organized similarly. First, we hear a fictionalized account about what the plant attack is like and then its variety of names, including the scientific one, are given as well as where they are found. Then, even more interestingly—at least to me—the story of how scientists figured out how these mechanisms work and other interesting information is provided. I love that the scientific process for figuring out all of these mechanisms was shared, as I think that encourages natural curiosity in science. The narrator has a pleasant tone, and you can hear her interest in the topic. Because the book does have some unusual words—and I imagine some great photos of the plants—I recommend pairing the audiobook with the eBook or physical book so the child can read along with the audio and enjoy the pictures. If you have a child who enjoys stories of unusual science, she or he may enjoy this book.

This is a great presentation of dangerous plants in the world. The description is vivid and clear, making the book apt for listening.

When Plants Attack by Rebecca E Hirsch I listened to this thru #netgalley I liked the book and felt it was appropriate for middle grade readers. I do however think the #audiobook is better as a companion to the physical book. I know what all the plants mentioned look like but pictures would be nice. I think the audiobook would be great for less experienced readers to still be able to enjoy the book.

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 mess around! I thank NetGalley for the chance to gain insights into Mother Nature's creepy plants! Very interesting!
Great narration!

Well, this was 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 focuses heavily on the many different ways plants adapt in order to guarantee their survival.

Full of fun and gross facts about plants that kept myself and my son intrigued from start to finish. Who knew plants could be so terrifying!

The narration of this book was perfect but I wish this audiobook had photo accompaniment, it would definitely enhance the experience especially for younger readers/listeners.



I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I received this ebook in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book was interesting and well written. I will purchase it for my classroom. The narrator do a good job reading the book in such a way that I could picture the plants.

I kind of wish the review above wasn't just for the audiobook. This was a great book. I listened to the audio because it was available and I wanted to "read" the book. This was a great book with wonderful facts and I will buy the print version. A book like this isn't the same in audio - you miss the photographs and it is hard to distinguish main text from captions and sidebars.

Thank you Lerner Audiobooks and NetGalley for the advanced audio copy of this book!

When Plants Attack by Rebecca E. Hirsch was an interesting and informative audiobook that presented plants in a whole new light! Focused on the ways that plants adapt to their habitat, we learned about plants that trap, smother, and kill in order to stay alive.

The narration on this was awesome! The delivery speed was great and the tone was instructional yet remained interesting throughout.

The plants were described in enough detail that illustrations were not necessary, but I think it will be great to pair the audiobook with a print version because actually seeing images of each plant would just enhance the reading/listening experience.

Fun listen. I'm a plant scientist, so I enjoyed learning about the fun aspects of plants. Even though the target audience is children, I enjoyed the audiobook.

I've always been fascinated by the carnivorous plants I think this would be a wonderful audiobook to go along with a physical copy and or get children interested in doing more research on their own. The narrator's voice is very calming. Also enjoy the little stories on how the plants devour or destroy it made great examples.

What a fun (and informative) listen! From plants with poisonous defenses to those that trap & eat unsuspecting animals, this book delves into plants that aren't your grandma's petunias! And the best part -- this isn't an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's real! These plants really exist! Just don't get too close.... :)

Rebecca Hirsch presents facts on these strange plants in an interesting manner, using true stories, humor and cool facts. This book would be an awesome addition to a science classroom or as supplementary reading for middle grade kids at school or at home. I could definitely see this book getting even reluctant readers interested in reading about science. I listened to the audio book version from Lerner Books. The book is a little over an hour in length -- perfect listening length for kids who only have a bit of time here and there to listen. The narrator reads clearly and keeps it interesting and upbeat. Definitely an entertaining listening experience!

This is the first book by Rebecca Hirsch that I've read. It was geared to middle grade kids, but I enjoyed it as well! I will definitely be reading & listening to more of her books!

**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book from Lerner Audiobooks. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**