Includes bibliographic references (page 48) and index.

Plants on the defense. A quick-change artist ; Triple trickery ; Playing dead ; Faking it ; Give and take -- Making more plants. Kidnapped! ; Masterful deceptions ; Exploding flowers ; What is that smell? ; Seeds in disguise ; Seed hitchhikers ; No cheaters allowed! -- Food, glorious food!. Food thief ; With a little help from my friends ; Gotcha! ; Plant or toilet? ; Super suckers -- Want to know more about plants?

Ever thought of plants as sneaky or tricky? Probably not. But after reading this book, you might think differently. In this latest non-fiction book by the award-winning author Etta Kaner, readers are introduced to variety of plants from around the world that use trickery to survive and thrive. From the shape-changing Boquila vine that avoids the threat of being eaten by blending in with its host plant; to the pungent (to humans) Carrion flower that uses a rotten meat smell to lure the flies that play an important role in its pollination; to the large Nepenthes rajah, a pitcher plant that fools tree shrews into using it as a toilet as a way of acquiring the much-needed nutrients from their waste, Pretty Tricky is a fascinating guide to some of the most interesting, unusual, and often sneaky plants. Clearly written in easy-to-absorb short blocks of text (any scientific language is defined within the text), the book is organized into three main sections that cover the many amazing adaptations plants use to defend themselves, to reproduce, and to acquire food. Each spread includes a fact bubble that identifies where the focus plants grow in the world. End matter includes additional explanations about how plants make seeds and how plants make food. An index is also included. Ashley Barron's gorgeous, detailed, and dimensional illustrations give every spread a dynamic feel, often as though the illustrations themselves are growing right out of the pages of the book.

N/A mc