Dr Sam Lloyd, Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, Healthy Land and Water

Plantastic! A to Z of Australian Plants is an engaging and comprehensive introduction to the incredible diversity of Australian plants. Aimed at 6 – 12 years, the book would also make a lovely gift for any plant or ecology buff who is interested in children’s literature. The book includes a “how to” guide at the front, which really encourages readers to use their newly acquired knowledge to start identifying plants in the bush. I was really pleased to see this introduction includes advice about being a responsible botanist, with information on collecting plants (i.e. national parks vs private property) and helping to avoid the spread of cinnamon fungus.

Beautifully illustrated, Plantastic is printed with vivid colours and enough detail to convey plant features and adaptations to a younger audience without being too heavy. The end papers include fantastic illustrations of dissected and labelled plant and flower parts, which really adds to the book.

Starting with A for acacia and ending with Z for zieria, one plant is listed for each letter of the alphabet and covers a double page spread with some ecological and botanical information (including plant adaptations, interesting facts about the origins of common names and botanical features), an illustration of the entire plant, close-ups of flowers/fruits and a pop-out box with a “Plantastic Fact” and “Plantastic Activity”. At the end of the book there is a map of Australia broken into broad “ecoregions” (e.g. montane grasslands, temperate forest) and opposite the map each plant is listed with its respective ecoregion. There is also a comprehensive glossary, which is vital in a book with so many anatomical names and scientific words.

Plantastic! really strikes the balance between having enough information to engage older children/readers, whilst being bright and interesting enough for younger readers to look through and enjoy.

More information about the book: 

Title: Plantastic! A to Z of Australian Plants

Author/Illustrator: Catherine Clowes/Rachel Gyan

Publisher: CSIRO Publishing (2021)

Age range: 6 – 12

Themes: Australian native plants, plant diversity, plant ecology, plant identification, plant adaptations.