I will start my review of Pretty Tricky: The Sneaky Ways Plants Survive with the disclaimer I have officially not finished this book. The review copy I had only included about 25 pages. However, the overall concept was given, and I was able to appreciate the book.
This book is a guide to how plants trick to survive. They trick the predators that would eat them by doing such things as playing “dead” and therefore the animal will not eat it. They trick bees, moths and insects of all kinds into coming to them due to the smell of another bug that is their food source or another of their own kind. This results in the creature thinking the scent are aphids and they lay eggs on the plant so the hatchling will have food. Or it smells like a dead animal so, again, the creature thinks it can lay their eggs there safely, but the plant uses the trick to the plants benefit. Or they think it is a female of the species and try to mate. Or they smell actual food creature and come to eat it without harming the plant. Some plants steal from others, such as a plant in Australia will not only cut the roots of other plants to steal water but has been known to cut telephone and other wires. And of course, there re such plants as the Venus fly trap that eat buggies (along with a few other carnivorous foliage). There is even a plant that tricks the creatures of the tree to poop into the flower so it can take the nutrients from the expelled goodness.
Each page is illustrated in an artistic manner by Ashley Barron. The text of Etta Kaner is interwoven around, in and through them. The text includes not only the tricky-trick used, but where the plant can be found and some additional facts.
The unrealistic images are both the best part and a little bit of a drawback. It might be hard to see how some of the plants would look while playing dead, wrapping themselves around food or predators, and such. But otherwise, this is a fun book and COME ON! It has POOP information!
