Plant Life for Children: All About Plant Adaptation; The World of Plants: Plant Adaptation

Everyone knows that plants need water and sunlight to live, but what if there's too much of one, and not enough of the other? Or what if other conditions are inhospitable to a plant's survival? Teaching young viewers that plants happen to be rather good at adaptation, Plant Adaptation (defined as fitting into one's surroundings) features a naturalist host who uses two case studies--the mangrove and cacti--to explore basic plant needs, consider the effects of harsh environments, and examine the strategies these hardy organisms use to stay alive. The mangrove, for instance, must face the environmental challenges of too much water and salt, and too little oxygen. Cacti, on the other hand, try to cope with (and compete for) a severely reduced water supply and a merciless sun that increases aridity. Followed by a video quiz to reinforce the facts presented, this short video and its included curriculum would make a fine supplement to a unit on the plant kingdom. The other titles in The World of Plants series are: Our Flowering World, The Structure of Plants, Photosynthesis, and Plants and People (series price: $425). Recommended. Aud: I, J.Why is Venus, Dusty's favorite plant, so sick? It's a case for his friends in M.A.P.L.E. (the Marvelous Association of Plant Loving Enthusiasts) to solve in All About Plant Adaptation, one of four titles in the Plant Life for Children series. As each of the members, who live around the country, research and compare notes via computer, they (and we) learn all about plant adaptation in relation to climate, locale, nutritional needs, protection and pollination. From the desert to the bogs, from a suburban backyard to a steamy orchid greenhouse, the M.A.P.L.E. kids eventually discover that Venus flytraps cannot use mineral water due to generational adaptation, and conduct a structured scientific experiment to prove it. The production values are excellent, the all-kid narrated script is entertaining as well as chockfull of information, the format is attention-grabbing and clever, and the price is right. Highly recommended. The other titles in the series are: All About Caring for Plants, All About Plant & Animal Interdependency, All About Plant Pollination: Fruit, Flowers & Seeds and All About Plant Structure & Growth (series price: $149.75). Aud: E, I. (E. Gieschen)