Green: The story of plant life on our planet by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton

Davies and Sutton have done a series of beautiful picture books about cellular biology, including microbes, biodiversity, and DNA. Now they turn their attention to plants and pack a surprising amount of information into this picture book.

Delicate green drawings of leaves cover the endpages and blue morning glory vines twine across the title page. A white child with curly hair and a lab coat introduces readers to the basic structure of a tree, from a cut-away of the whole tree and root system down to the cellular level of the leaves. The picture broadens out again to talk about the cycle of carbon dioxide and oxygen and how plants make it possible for life, as we know it, to exist on earth. The creators go back to the very beginning of life, the development of plants and prehistoric animals, and the origin of fossil fuels. This lets them lead the conversation into the basics of climate change, the role of forests, grasslands, and the phytoplankton of the sea in keeping earth viable for life, and ending with a simple reminder that "GREEN is the most important color in the world."

Sutton's art is full of wavy lines, showing a lush, vibrant landscape and the interaction of the many different living things shown in the book. Greens of all shades fill the story, from trees to grasslands, deep greens, seagreens, and soft, yellow grass greens. I thought the explanation of the origin of fossil fuels was a good addition to the climate change conversation for young children, since it's rarely addressed where those fuels come from, and this was a simple explanation that all ages can understand. I also appreciated that the ending was general and didn't include a lot of weirdly specific (and impractical) "solutions."

Verdict: The primary goal of this book is information about the role of plants in the world and children and their adults can extrapolate action items that fit with their lifestyle and abilities from the information included. A strong addition to collections where there is an elementary-aged audience for picture books.

ISBN: 9781536231410; Published March 2024 by Candlewick; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library