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Topic: Plants & Trees KS2

Chapter book

Sorrel Fallowfield is so good at being good that teachers come to her when they need help remembering the school rules – and there are LOTS.

Luckily, Sorrel doesn’t have any trouble following them, until the day she discovers a faded packet of Surprising Seeds buried under a tree in her backyard.

Now she’s hearing voices, seeing things, experiencing an almost unstoppable urge to plant the Seeds in some very unusual places and completely failing to win her school’s competition to find The Most Obedient Child of the School.

And all that’s before flowers start growing out of her head…

Plants and Trees Topic Booklist

What makes ‘plants and trees’ such a fascinating science topic at KS2? Perhaps because trees are among the longest-living organisms on Earth and come in so many different shapes and sizes. Or maybe it’s because trees have been found to communicate to each other, or perhaps it’s the way that plants make their own food. Many children are also fascinated by the role plants and trees play in our planet’s ecosystem and are inspired to learn about our ability to step in and protect them. From petals and pollination to bark and branches, there’s plenty to enjoy in our selection of the best children’s books about plants and trees.

NB: This selection of books about plants and trees is aimed at children in KS2 (7-11). For books for younger children, try our Growing Plants KS1 list.

Non-fiction

Award-winning artist Sylvia Long and author Dianna Hutts Aston have teamed up again to create this gorgeous and informative introduction to seeds. Poetic in voice and elegant in design, the book introduces children to a fascinating array of seed and plant facts, making it a guide that is equally at home being read on a parent’s lap as in a classroom reading circle.

Chapter book

Toby Lolness is just one and a half millimetres tall, and he’s the most wanted person in his world, the Great Oak Tree. When Toby’s father makes a ground-breaking discovery, tapping into the very heart of the Tree’s energy, he also realizes that exploiting it could permanently damage their world. Refusing to reveal the secret of his invention to an enraged community, the family is exiled. But one man is determined to get hold of the forbidden knowledge … and his plan is to destroy the Tree. Now Toby’s parents have been imprisoned and sentenced to death. Only Toby has managed to escape, but for how long?

Non-fiction

The 2016 offering from Big Picture Press’s Welcome to the Museum series, Botanicum is a stunningly curated guide to plant life. With artwork from Katie Scott of Animalium fame, Botanicum gives readers the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the pages of a beautiful book.

From perennials to bulbs to tropical exotica, Botanicum is a wonderful feast of botanical knowledge complete with superb cross sections of how plants work.

Non-fiction

Get ready to learn everything you never knew about plants and then some! Now in paperback, this illustrated compendium celebrates the plants you didn’t even know you used, from your toothpaste to your car tires to the name of your great-great-aunt. This comprehensive overview also contains great plant projects you and your friends can try at home!

Chapter book

When Tomas discovers a strange old tree at the bottom of his grandad’s garden, he doesn’t think much of it. But he takes the funny fruit from the tree back into the house – and gets the shock and delight of his life when a tiny dragon hatches! The tree is a dragonfruit tree, and Tomas has got his very own dragon, Flicker …

Tomas soon finds out that life with Flicker is great fun, but also very … unpredictable. Yes, dragons are wonderful, but they also set fire to your toothbruth and leave your pants hanging from the TV aerial. Tomas has to learn how to look after Flicker – and quickly. And then something extraordinary happens – more dragonfruits appear on the tree. Tomas is officially growing dragons …

Non-fiction

Grow BEAUTY. Grow COMPANIONSHIP. Grow FLAVOUR. Grow PLANTS!

Discover 15 plants and fungi with heroic powers, then learn how to grow them.

Meet their surprising relatives (the tasty tomato is a cousin of deadly nightshade!) and unearth their interesting histories (lettuce was the first vegetable to be grown in space!). Then follow step-by-step instructions to grow and care for each one, whether you have a big backyard garden or a sunny windowsill.

Written by horticulturalist Riz Reyes and fully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, this is the perfect introduction to growing plants for families everywhere.

Non-fiction

A quirky, colourful guide to the horrible, shocking and disgusting aspects of the science of life cycles and a fantastic way to inspire children in science learning.

Killer Plants investigates all things green and gross, from insect-eating pitcher plants to giant lilies that smell of rotting corpses.

The Disgusting and Dreadful Science takes a look at the weird, revolting and shocking aspects of science for children at KS2. From plants and life cycles to the human body and animal adaptations, the books offer fascinating facts, fun examples and true-life stories to provide ways in to understanding solid scientific principles. Perfect for readers aged 9 and up.

Non-fiction

This is our Green Planet: a hidden world where plants care for other plants and can smell, taste, touch, hear and even . . . ‘talk’.

In the world of plants, time passes more slowly, but if we speed months into minutes we can peer into this hidden world and realise: it’s a battleground. Plants are working to thwart their enemies, and to trick animals into working for them.

Right under your feet, and all around you, is a secret world you’ve probably never noticed. Until now. Let’s explore our Green Planet: a secret world of plants that might change how you see plants forever . . .

Discover all there is to love about our astonishing Green Planet, the stories of its inhabitants, and the challenges it faces.

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