Perfect for quarantine reading with your children!

Did you know that the rubber in your shoes came from a tree? Ever wondered where your breakfast cereal is grown? Have you remembered to thank a bee today for the food you ate for dinner last night?

Get ready to learn everything you never knew about plants and then some! 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!

MICHAEL HOLLAND

Michael Holland is a London based freelance nature educator and writer. As a child, he was inspired by Keith Mossman’s ’The Pip Book’ which started his hobby of growing plants and appreciating the natural world. He spent much of his childhood exploring woods and landscapes of Great Britain before studying Ecology at University.

He subsequently found his way into environmental education at The Royal Botanical Gardens Kew and Chelsea Physic Garden where he stayed (eventually as Head of Education) for 25 years.

He became a freelancer on the day after the UK’s famous Brexit day in 2020 and shortly afterwards, his debut book ’I Ate Sunshine For Breakfast’ was published. So far, it’s been translated into over 20 languages and in November 2020 it won the Garden Media Guild’s award for ’Best Gardening Book’. In September 2021, it was shortlisted for the UK Royal Society’s ’Young people’s Book Prize’.

Michael continues to write about nature as well as teaching people of all ages about nature in and about the great outdoors in and around London. He is a wildlife gardener and a DJ on his local radio station hSpark Radio.