Very informative, I learned a lot myself! The whimsical images are colorful and the layout is clear with bits of information clearly laid out. This topic is fascinating and so important today. I will definitely add this to our school library!

Beautiful book showcasing nature and growing curiosity for the plants around us! I love a children's book that captures the interest of adult readers too. Definitely makes reading it over and over again more enjoyable.

Always enjoy this kind of book, which is easier for adults to digest fun facts (and full of color too), about plants. Some I didn't know existed, really poking my curiosity. And some I knew, but never realized their super powers. WOW. And mind you, this is a book for children, not adult. But I had fun reading the book, so I believe kids will love this book too,

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Powered by Plants is a wonderful interesting, fun and educational book for children. I love children's books about nature and I'm so glad there's one not about animals but focused on the wild nature of plants.
Children have inquisitive minds and this book is a great resource to help them understand more about nature around us. The plants featured are weeds, common plants, carnivorous plants and underwater plants.
The only thing I can say negative about this book is that the text is quite squashed up but it may be better to read in physical format than pdf.

Great introduction to many different types of plants and their superpowers! Perfect for upper elementary plant exploration!

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto for the ARC of this!

This is such a cool look at all the different ways that plants inspire inventors to solve problems for humans. I loved the art, and there was just the right amount of information and text for the intended audience. I will definitely be getting my hands on a physical copy to read to my homeschooled kids!

A wonderful children's book that integrates plants (and their unique designs) with all sorts of engineering and potential career paths. Medical (aspirin is plant based), bridges (vines), buildings/architecture (plant inspired). I'm a long time plant geek and I discovered information that I was unaware, for example the pomelo citrus fruit (the largest citrus) which has shock absorbing properties.

An impressive amount of interesting, relevant facts and material are jammed into this 70-80 page children's book. The book isn't "pushy" about climate change and saving the planet, but definitely provides opportunity for plants to provide inspiration and innovation to help us correct the current state of affairs.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing the opportunity to review the electronic advance read copy (ARC) of Powered by Plants: Meet the trees, flowers, and vegetation that inspire our everyday technology by Clive Gifford and illustrated by Gosia Herba.

This book is fully illustrated, but there is a lot going on with the illustrations and in my opinion it would hold the interest of children.

Clive Gifford is the author of over 170 books. Wow!

Thank you to Clive Gifford and Quarto Publishing Group for approving my request to review the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a fun and interesting read about the different ways plants are used in industry and/or inspire new innovations.

The information is really intriguing and a great introduction to how nature and technology can interact.

I personally found many of the pages to be too busy with illustrations for my liking but 9 year old enjoyed them, especially the bright colours.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book is really neat! Each page explores a plant that has interesting characteristics and what it can be used for. It also offers connections between plants and scientists who are using them to create solutions to problems and protect our environment. This book is perfect for an inquiry into STEM or for children who are interested in plants and innovative ideas in the field of Science. I can think of tons of ways to use this book in lessons in Science. I also think that it would quickly become a favourite in my class library because it is one that is accessible to a variety of students, with beautiful and detailed diagrams at pictures, even children who struggle with reading can gain information from this text. For those who are strong readers there are lots of small text boxes throughout the book that give opportunities for deeper reading and understanding. The text boxes, labels and diagrams also teach non-ficton text features, an important understanding for young readers encountering non-fiction texts for the first time. I would recommend this book to teachers and families of children in the 7-11 age range. I look forward to purchasing a copy for my classroom library now that it is published!!

4.5 Stars
Powered by Plants is a fantastic attempt to educate kids (& adults) about the numerous ways in which nature has been supporting us. Various inventions and marvels have their roots in nature. Scientists, physicists, engineers, etc., were inspired by the intricate workings of various plants and tried to replicate the same in their inventions. This continues even today.
The book is a small example of how we need nature and not the other way round. She can protect herself, thank you very much. We only need to follow her instructions instead of trying to control her. Nature is our savior; we aren’t hers.
The book talks of bamboo, vines, coconut, pomelo fruit (pampara panasa in Telugu), sugarcane, Willow (used to make aspirin), eucalyptus (insect repellant, antiseptic), mangroves, flax (cloth, glue), pineapple (leaf leather), cactus, tumbleweed, lily, lotus, seaweed, and many more plants.
I’ll have to add that some of the mentioned uses are indigenous and practiced for centuries. For example, we use just about every part of coconut (and its leaves). The rope made from coconut coir is a part of most households (at least in my region). In fact, the reeds from dried coconut leaves are slit and bunched to make broomsticks. My late granny would do it every summer when the coconut leaves crashed onto the earth due to thunderstorms.
The book is detailed and has beautiful illustrations. Every page is bright, colorful, and cheerful. The expressions on some plants are hilarious. Imagine a plant smirking at you. ;)
The text is tiny and seems crammed on the page. I had to zoom in a bit to read the text in the electronic copy. It might look better in the physical version. The illustrations will surely be a treat.
To sum up, Powered by Plants is a must-read for little ones and adults. After all, we need to respect and accept nature as supreme before we ‘protect’ her.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and am voluntarily leaving a review.

What a gem of a book. I discovered so many new things about how plants help us. The colourful layout is clear and will certainly appeal to children who will be keen to share their new facts. As the text is broken up into sections, this should also appeal to those less confident readers. I will definitely buy a copy for our classroom bookshelf and our school library as this will be perfect for our plants topic.

This is a really nice non fiction book for older children. I love more advanced picture books that can be used in upper grades. Picture books are fun for everyone! The book highlights many plants that have unique qualities and how they're being used in interesting ways. This would be a really fun book to explore in a science classroom. As an educator, while I read I was already thinking of lessons and activities you could do to accompany this book!

This book is brilliant. The writing and scientific explanations were easy to read and comprehend, the artwork was cute. I genuinely feel like I learned a lot from this book. Parents need to read this book to their kids! It will help them be curious about the world and plants around them.

What a marvellous book this is!

We’ve seen so many books praising the skills of animals. But nature isn’t just animals. Finally, here’s a children’s nonfiction that celebrates plants and their ingenious ways of surviving and thriving in nature.

The book covers a wide variety of plants of all types and demonstrates one unique ability that they have, which human engineers have or are trying to replicate. These range from common plants such as the peace lily to weeds such as tumbleweeds to carnivorous plants such as the Venus Flytrap to underwater plants such as the kelp to trees such as the willow.

The book is 80 pages long, and each of these pages (except for a few) contains details on one specific plant, its features and the ability that we humans could learn. I liked how the content was presented from the first person perspective of the specific plant on that page. This created a beautiful connect and also helped incorporate a touch of humour to the narration.

The accompanying illustrations are fabulous and show not just the plant but also a detailed view of their relevant habits. Every page is completely in colour, and I am sure the physical copy would be outstanding to look at.

The only complaint I have is that the text is a little cramped up. I think this is because there is a lot of content per page. Though the text is definitely easy to understand for the target age group and is sectioned into logical paragraphs, it still looks a bit cluttered on the digital copy. This might not be an issue in the physical copy.

Humankind has always considered itself the smartest of the species. This book shows that even plants can be way smarter than us and we still have a long way to go in making the maximum use of available natural resources while causing minimal destruction to the environment. Hopefully, we learn a little humility as well by reading about these amazing plants and trees. Humans have a lot to learn from nature after all; high time we stop considering ourselves the masters of the planet and incorporate more respect in our dealings with nature.

Recommended not just to every little plant lover but to anyone who wants to see the wonders of nature. What a wonderful addition this would make to homes, schools and libraries!

This is my third book by Clive Gifford and all three of them have been enlightening experiences. Definitely a children’s author worth reading!

4.5 stars.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley for the DRC of “Powered by Plants”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I am thoroughly impressed!

Each chapter has so much fun information regarding different plants which the young do not know much about (yes, we adults are absorbing the info as well!) flanked with funky illustrations, the book is a treat to the eyes and the curious minds.

Go for it. You won't be disappointed.

A must keep. Kudos to the team once again. You don't know how to disappoint, do you?

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions, for the advance reading copy.