Plant Attack!: The Fascinating Ways Flora Defends Itself

Just like people and animals, plants need to defend themselves.

They can't scream or run away from danger, but many have developed surprisingly cool and courageous ways to keep themselves safe from pesky bugs, hungry animals and even large-clawed crabs. Plants can stab, poison, drown and even suffocate their predators. Discover the corpse flower, which smells like a combination of rotting wounds, garlic, cheese and sour sweat. Then there is the touch-me-not balsam that explodes, flinging anything that touches it through the air. Plant Attack! The Fascinating Ways Flora Defend Themselves explores 15 different plants and the unique, and sometimes bizarre, ways they defend themselves from predators, including us.

Praise for Erin Silver:

★"Enthralling...Empowers readers to understand their own human coping mechanisms, while colorful, detailed images soaked in softly muted earth tones build a base of strong general knowledge. The challenge for readers young and old will be to see who says 'ew' first! A thoroughly engaging, fact-filled book with audacious and memorable animal responses to predators. A must-have for every library."―School Library Journal, starred review for Mighty Scared

Erin Silver is an award-winning children’s author. Her books include Rush Hour: Navigating Our Global Traffic Jam (Blueberry Award winner), Sitting Shiva (OLA Best Bets, Vine Award finalist, TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award finalist), All Consuming: Shop Smarter for the Planet (Hackmatack Award nominee), In It to Win It: Sports and the Climate Crisis (Green Earth Book Award winner) and Good Food, Bad Waste: Let’s Eat for the Planet (2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books finalist). She is also the author of two nonfiction picture books for younger readers, Mighty Scared and Plant Attack! (Silver Birch Express Honor Book). Erin is a sought-after speaker at schools, libraries and conferences. She has an MFA in creative nonfiction and a postgraduate journalism degree. Erin lives in Toronto.

Julie McLaughlin is an award-winning illustrator of numerous children's books, including Pride Puppy, Little Cloud, Plant Attack!, Breaking News and Why We Live Where We Live, winner of the 2015 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction. Her work with various editorial, advertising and publishing clients can be seen around the world. Julie grew up on the Prairies and now resides on Vancouver Island.