This is a children's picture book that tells the story of poison ivy through a year's seasons using simple text and pictures made of painted paper cutouts.

I really enjoyed the pictures in this book. The combination of detailed semi-realism from the paint plus three-dimensional depth from the sculptured cutouts worked really well especially in the tangled botanical illustrations. It also does a good job of siting poison ivy within a network of relationships in the forest.

Unfortunately as an informational book about poison ivy, I can't recommend it. The narrative focus on interaction with other creatures means there's not as much information about how humans can live with (or avoid having to live with) the dreaded vine, and what there is, is sort of shoehorned in awkwardly and with little context. And some of the information it does have is sufficiently simplified as to be misleading, such as the repeated statement that poison ivy leaves are all red in the early spring. Some simplification is ok in science books for very young children, but poison ivy is one case where ignorance is *much* safer than overconfidence. ( )

Great introduction with an engaging, informative narrative and wonderful illustrations. I love the point the author makes that plants are neither good nor bad. What's bad for humans is great for other animals. ( )