The Deadliest: Flower

Gr 3-6–Which flower would win the contest deadliest flower? This new book tries to answer that question in a game-show format. The book starts with a small amount of background information about why plants are toxic then introduces the six deadly floral contestants. Each contestant is introduced, with informational pieces about where the flower is found, the size, shape and color of the flower and leaves, how the plant has been used throughout history, and what would happen to a person who ingested some of the plant. The conclusion of the book is a bit surprising, because the plant that is the deadliest isn’t the one that’s the most toxic, but the one that is most commonly used. The artwork is a graphic novel style, with mostly flat images, but the pictures of the flowers are highly detailed and will make the plants easy to identify, should readers need to. Middle graders will find this endlessly interesting, between the short and interesting pieces of text and the visuals of the effects of the poisons.