V is for Venus Flytrap

Book excerpt: Why do onions make us cry? What popular nut really isn't a nut at all? And what makes a forest a rainforest? The answers to these questions and many other fascinating facts can be found in V is for Venus Flytrap: A Plant Alphabet. Mankind's dependence upon the plant kingdom goes far beyond the food on our table and the air that we breathe. Plants have also provided shelter and led to important advances in medicine and science. Using the alphabet, horticulturalist Eugene Gagliano covers a wide range of topics including exotic species and their locations; plants' role in a healthy lifestyle; food crops and the world economy; and the importance of conservation and environmental stewardship in our world today. After reading V is for Venus Flytrap, young readers will be eager to get their hands dirty and their thumbs green!Retired elementary schoolteacher Eugene Gagliano has had a green thumb since boyhood. He has an A.A.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and owned a greenhouse business for several years. The author of several books for children including C is for Cowboy: A Wyoming Alphabet and Four Wheels West: A Wyoming Number Book, Eugene lives in Buffalo, Wyoming. Elizabeth Traynor received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work can be seen throughout the country, from book covers, newspapers, and magazines, to ads and packaging. She is a professor of illustration, passing her love and knowledge of the field on to the next generation of artists. Elizabeth lives in Natick, Massachusetts.