This book goes into a good amount of detail about how various plants developed. There is lots of interesting information about ancient plants. I really like how it gives a pronunciation guide and information on when the plant lived - or if it can still be found today. Each plant is also illustrated beautifully. Even as an adult reading this, I learned a lot.

The target audience is set to ages 7-11, grade levels 2-3, so it will be a while before my infant will be ready for this book. However, I think it would be a good addition to our library and even when she is younger than the targeted age group, she can leaf through the book and enjoy the illustrations.

This could be a useful and appealing enrichment or reference book for middle grades school or classroom libraries. There is a great deal of information, but it's broken into logical section and presented in manageable chunks.

The accompanying illustrations are numerous, detailed, and engaging. They will help students engage with and connect to the material presented.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

No word of a lie, but in the last couple of years "clade" was a University Challenge answer, and only the week I read this book Only Connect asked what followed eons and periods. And yet both terms come to this school book early. But that's not because this is mindbogglingly difficult to read – it's because it's perfectly thorough, well presented, and the only book of its type a school could need. In looking back to the days of early plants we start with hints towards understanding DNA, evolution and Latin names for life-forms, and then hit the ground running with one or two full-page spreads dedicated to each specific form of plant, from the algae and the early kinds, up to the ferns, and then the seeded plants with flowers that came later. Each spread gets an introduction, and an attractive selection of visuals, either specific diagrams or landscapes with (named) critters running about. Where possible the relevant plants are ones that are on our Earth today, showing that while evolution seems to hit some things fast, plants here might not have changed a frond in 180 million years. OK, not every schoolchild is going to want to do a project on green things that have long since become coal and burned, but the benefits of this volume are manifold. My copy switched quite violently from imperial to metric measurements, but I am sure that will be sorted out to make this a resounding success.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto - QEB publishing for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

This was absolutely gorgeous, exactly the kind of book that I love in include in our homeschooling. The art was absolutely beautiful, there wasn't too much text to be uncomfortable reading aloud the full two page spread for each type of plant, and it was easy enough for my 3rd grader to understand. I want to point out that I *love* that the author included pronunciations of scientific names, I think all middle grade non-fiction would benefit from pronunciation alongside words that might be unfamiliar, new readers especially who are having English phonics drilled in can find these words very confusing without a guide. I'd definitely recommend this to go alongside learning about dinosaurs, different time periods, evolution, and/or plants.

Before bugs, animals, or birds, there were plants. They were first as utility, then as fodder, later for beauty. Beautifully and comprehensively illustrated by Amy Grimes and put together by a team headed by renowned Science writer Chris Thorogood in language aimed at nonscientists/plant biologists, this is an excellent learning tool for people of many ages and English language abilities. Loved it and plan to gift it to our local library.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Quarto Publishing Group – QEB Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalleyand the publishers.
When Plants Took Over the Planet is a beautifully illustrated and in depth book about how plants first grew on earth and how they evolved.
This book is so well set out and really interesting.
There is information about how plants started, evolution, what plants can be found where, what plants are still alive, illustrated pictures with information and so much more.
This book is aimed at ages 7 - 11 and would be a fantastic resource for any classroom especially for children when learning about evolution in science!
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I love this series. We use when whales walked and when we became humans for school and so this book worked perfectly. When you learn about when earth was formed and you learn about dinosaurs and humans and sea creatures you don't think much about the plants and how they became what we see now. It's beautifully illustrated and extremely informative. I will definitely be getting a hardcover version of this

Chris Thorogood’s When Plants Took Over the Plant is a fantastic full color picture book on the evolution of plants. With detailed factual information and beautiful illustrations, this is a fantastic resource for mid-upper elementary kids and their loving adults. Suitable for both home and classroom use, the book takes a wonderful look at botanical evolution.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was provided by the publisher. Originally posted at Novel Obsession.