I'm so glad we get to have books like this one 🥹

I am so happy with whatever life decisions led me to read this book. I don’t know where to start my praise, but I’ll try my best.

Art: Stunning. Gorgeous. Eliška Podešvová is a talented artist and tattooist, and those skills shine through in this book. The plant drawings are absolutely beautiful and remind me of plant studies from the 17th/18th century. Even simple elements like arrows look intentional on the pages. Before learning that Eliška was a tattooist, I remember thinking I would absolutely love to have art from the book tattooed on myself.

Accessibility of Information: The Book of Disappearing Plants is marketed as a children’s nonfiction book, so while reading, I asked myself whether a middle school student could read along and what they would take away by the end. I would say any child, whether they read the book themselves or have it read to them, will leave with an appreciation for plants. Štěpánka Sekaninová does a fantastic job of communicating information about extinct plants to readers. I can 100% see this book in a middle school library, and even in a grade 3/4 homeroom classroom. Sure, there are some bigger words, but I don't think nonfiction for kids should hide from difficult topics/concepts just because the primary reading demographic is children. Sentences about climate change or how the plant went extinct are communicated without jargon, and a bonus: the sentences aren't condescending. I think connections to climate change and habitat loss are clearly explained, while leaving room for readers to ask more questions. I know I'd look up what else goats eat. :P

Information Depth: The depth at which each plant is covered strikes a good balance between sharing the whole story while letting readers make connections between each species. For example, if a child started flipping through the pages, I could see them pick up on a pattern in the extinction reasons (e.g., agriculture repeatedly appears in bubble text boxes). Part of that is how the information is displayed on the page. A simple map illustration shows where the species was found, along with text stating when it was last seen. Each species has a bubble text box where Štěpánka shares the known or likely reason the plant went extinct, even if that information was stated somewhere in the paragraphs. Text for each species expands on interesting and relevant facts, such as the origin of its name or how naturalists tried to save the vulnerable plant before it went extinct in the wild.

How I can see this being used in classrooms: This book would work really well in climate change or conservation-related units. Whether it’s one of the books students can pick for quiet reading time or a more guided class reading. Additionally, I think it would pair really well with an interactive outdoor lesson (though I understand a lot of schools with predominantly black and brown students in Canada may not have access to lots of urban nature - not sure if this extends to other areas) where students get to observe patterns of plant species distribution and abundance. It can also tie back to habitat and food web units, as some species highlighted in this book include text stating which animals interacted with the extinct plant. I know this book is going in my community science project box!

Further Reading: Štěpánka shares additional resources for younger and older readers, including websites and definitions, at the end of the book. They also share a QR code to their research so readers can find more information since it was limited. I am so incredibly excited to go through their research one day!

Final Note: If you have access to this book through your library or bookshops, I encourage everyone to read it and share it with any young readers in your life!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!