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Plants Bite Back!
There are plants that prickle, sting, and even munch insects for lunch! So, never bite a strange plant—it might bite back!
Stunning photographs combine with lively illustrations and engaging, age-appropriate stories in DK Readers, a multilevel reading program guaranteed to capture children's interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge.
With DK Readers, children will learn to read—then read to learn!
Stunning photographs combine with lively illustrations and engaging, age-appropriate stories in DK Readers, a multilevel reading program guaranteed to capture children's interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge.
With DK Readers, children will learn to read—then read to learn!
- GenresScienceNonfiction
48 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Richard Platt
289 books26 followers(1953–)
Richard Platt is the author of more than sixty informative books for young readers, and he also writes for innovative multimedia projects. Some of his most popular works have been collaborations with illustrator Stephen Biesty on the "Cross-Sections" series. After a failed attempt to forge a career as a photographer, Platt discovered that he had a knack for writing. "I started writing about photography: first magazine articles, then books," he explained on the Walker Books Web site. "I got a job editing children's books, then went on to write them."
In the 1990s, Platt teamed up with popular juvenile illustrator Biesty for several books, beginning with Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections Book, published in 1992. The following year, a second volume in the series, Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Man-of-War, proved equally interesting for late-elementary-age readers, especially those enchanted by seventeenth-century battleships. Alongside Biesty's cutaway illustrations, Platt provides explanatory text that indicates the purpose and activities in each section of the ship. The hardships of life aboard such vessels for their often 800-member crews are not overlooked, either, and the drawings depict food rations crawling with maggots and a doctor's pail containing severed limbs. Ellen Mandel, writing for Booklist, asserted that Platt's "intriguing text" serves to make "this meticulously presented book a treasure of factual content and visual imagery."
For Stephen Biesty's Incredible Everything, Platt provides informative paragraphs to accompany the illustrations for many everyday products, such as athletic shoes and compact discs. Much of the text revolves around the manufacturing process. Stephen Biesty's Incredible Body is a lesson in human anatomy, with sections on each of the body's systems and several major organs; the digestive system alone takes up four pages. Platt has also worked with the illustrator on Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Castle and Stephen Biesty's Incredible Explosions.
Working with publisher Dorling Kindersley, Platt has authored several titles in their "Eyewitness" series, some of which have appeared in the United States under the Knopf/Borzoi imprint. Pirate details the world of corsairs, privateers, and crime on the high seas throughout history. A reviewer for Science Books and Films, Richard B. Woodbury, praised the work as "a veritable miniencyclopedia or minimuseum" and "a pleasure to look at." Spy chronicles the history of espionage and the decisive role intelligence-gathering triumphs have played in history. Of particular emphasis are the code-breaking endeavors by Allied intelligence networks during World War II. Shipwreck, also part of the "Eyewitness" series, investigates famous sea disasters and rescues. Like the other books in the popular series, Shipwreck is lavishly illustrated. Chris Stephenson, writing in School Librarian, called it "an excellent source of historical evidence and nautical information."
Platt has also written several books about inventions. His The Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions, which appeared in 1994, won praise from reviewers for its comprehensiveness. Platt divides the development of technology throughout the ages into five sections, including agriculture, conquest, and communication. The timeline begins at 600,000 BCE, around the time humans likely began using fire, and includes predictions for innovations that may occur in the near future. Cathryn A. Camper, reviewing The Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions for School Library Journal, praised Platt's skilled use of illustration and text, which the critic felt "teaches a sophisticated form of literacy similar to" that provided with multimedia learning tools—an area in which Platt already had a great deal of writing experience. "Readers will delight in the colorful pictures and the text, which gives just enough information to satisfy curiosity," opined Voice of Youth Advo
Richard Platt is the author of more than sixty informative books for young readers, and he also writes for innovative multimedia projects. Some of his most popular works have been collaborations with illustrator Stephen Biesty on the "Cross-Sections" series. After a failed attempt to forge a career as a photographer, Platt discovered that he had a knack for writing. "I started writing about photography: first magazine articles, then books," he explained on the Walker Books Web site. "I got a job editing children's books, then went on to write them."
In the 1990s, Platt teamed up with popular juvenile illustrator Biesty for several books, beginning with Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections Book, published in 1992. The following year, a second volume in the series, Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Man-of-War, proved equally interesting for late-elementary-age readers, especially those enchanted by seventeenth-century battleships. Alongside Biesty's cutaway illustrations, Platt provides explanatory text that indicates the purpose and activities in each section of the ship. The hardships of life aboard such vessels for their often 800-member crews are not overlooked, either, and the drawings depict food rations crawling with maggots and a doctor's pail containing severed limbs. Ellen Mandel, writing for Booklist, asserted that Platt's "intriguing text" serves to make "this meticulously presented book a treasure of factual content and visual imagery."
For Stephen Biesty's Incredible Everything, Platt provides informative paragraphs to accompany the illustrations for many everyday products, such as athletic shoes and compact discs. Much of the text revolves around the manufacturing process. Stephen Biesty's Incredible Body is a lesson in human anatomy, with sections on each of the body's systems and several major organs; the digestive system alone takes up four pages. Platt has also worked with the illustrator on Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Castle and Stephen Biesty's Incredible Explosions.
Working with publisher Dorling Kindersley, Platt has authored several titles in their "Eyewitness" series, some of which have appeared in the United States under the Knopf/Borzoi imprint. Pirate details the world of corsairs, privateers, and crime on the high seas throughout history. A reviewer for Science Books and Films, Richard B. Woodbury, praised the work as "a veritable miniencyclopedia or minimuseum" and "a pleasure to look at." Spy chronicles the history of espionage and the decisive role intelligence-gathering triumphs have played in history. Of particular emphasis are the code-breaking endeavors by Allied intelligence networks during World War II. Shipwreck, also part of the "Eyewitness" series, investigates famous sea disasters and rescues. Like the other books in the popular series, Shipwreck is lavishly illustrated. Chris Stephenson, writing in School Librarian, called it "an excellent source of historical evidence and nautical information."
Platt has also written several books about inventions. His The Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions, which appeared in 1994, won praise from reviewers for its comprehensiveness. Platt divides the development of technology throughout the ages into five sections, including agriculture, conquest, and communication. The timeline begins at 600,000 BCE, around the time humans likely began using fire, and includes predictions for innovations that may occur in the near future. Cathryn A. Camper, reviewing The Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions for School Library Journal, praised Platt's skilled use of illustration and text, which the critic felt "teaches a sophisticated form of literacy similar to" that provided with multimedia learning tools—an area in which Platt already had a great deal of writing experience. "Readers will delight in the colorful pictures and the text, which gives just enough information to satisfy curiosity," opined Voice of Youth Advo
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 9, 2019
Kid friendly non fiction about carnivorous and poisonous plants from around the world
December 20, 2017
Quiet sedate plants. Boring, except a handful of the unexpected. This book is about the dangerous plants - carnivorous, poisonous, and spiked - these plants bite back!
Find out about the Venus flytrap and bladderwort tempting insects to their deaths. Discover nettles and poison ivy using oils and injections to irate skin to keep animals away. And nature's daggers, found in hundreds of version of cacti, slice and barb their way through life like dessert gangstas.
"Plants bite back!" has the typical DK Reader colorful photos and informative narrative. A great read for beginning botanists and gardeners.
Find out about the Venus flytrap and bladderwort tempting insects to their deaths. Discover nettles and poison ivy using oils and injections to irate skin to keep animals away. And nature's daggers, found in hundreds of version of cacti, slice and barb their way through life like dessert gangstas.
"Plants bite back!" has the typical DK Reader colorful photos and informative narrative. A great read for beginning botanists and gardeners.
March 21, 2022
Carnivorous plants fascinate my kids, so this was a good read to fill them in on some details.
June 21, 2023
Carnivorous plants section well done and interesting then it gets a little dark with poisonous ones.
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October 28, 2013Book Title: Plants Bite Back by Richard Platt
Book Description: This book is loaded with incredible photographs and interesting facts about how plants eat animals! Just the thought of that is sure to intrigue any child’s curiousity.
Focus for my minilesson:
•I would introduce this book with a picture walk. During the walk, I would point out the various text features. After reading the book, we would discuss together how captions help us to understand the photos or illustrations better.
Teach: 1st Grade CCSS Connection –
1.W.2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
• The students will use facts from the text to make a booklet called All About Plants That Eat Animals! In their booklet, they will illustrate and include a caption for each picture.
Learning Outcomes:
The students will be able to model a booklet with text features using a mentor book as a guide.
Book Description: This book is loaded with incredible photographs and interesting facts about how plants eat animals! Just the thought of that is sure to intrigue any child’s curiousity.
Focus for my minilesson:
•I would introduce this book with a picture walk. During the walk, I would point out the various text features. After reading the book, we would discuss together how captions help us to understand the photos or illustrations better.
Teach: 1st Grade CCSS Connection –
1.W.2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
• The students will use facts from the text to make a booklet called All About Plants That Eat Animals! In their booklet, they will illustrate and include a caption for each picture.
Learning Outcomes:
The students will be able to model a booklet with text features using a mentor book as a guide.
February 25, 2011
The book has vivid pictures and photographs which really make this topic come to life. The way in which the text is written really grabs the readers attention and makes you want to read on!
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July 27, 2011A lot of information for the ages they're aiming at (grades 2-3); my son's older, so I'm donating this to his school's library.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews