• Age: 4 to 8
• Grade: p to 3
• Reading age: 4 to 8

Weeds are wonderful! Persistent, exuberant…these plants have personalities, and this nonfiction picture book puts them on colorful display!

From bright yellow dandelions popping through cracks in sidewalks to purple loosestrife growing rampant along roadways, weeds offer unexpected splashes of color and life to the least likely of places. With lovely language and a sly sense of humor, this beautiful picture book celebrates the tenacious temperaments of these pesky plants and is sure to have little ones chanting, “Way to go, weeds!”

Cindy Jenson-Elliott is the author of the celebrated Weeds Find a Way illustrated by Carolyn Fisher. She is a freelance writer for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and educational publishers, as well as a teacher and natural history instructor. She has an MA in education, and she enjoys spending time outdoors in San Diego, California, where she lives with her family. Visit her at CindyJensonElliott.com.

Cindy Jenson-Elliott's profile page

Carolyn Fisher has written and illustrated several picture books, including Good Night, World by Willa Perlman and her own The Snow Show. Her illustrations have been commissioned by hundreds of magazines and newspapers, earned numerous awards, and been exhibited around North America. Carolyn has dual US and Canadian citizenship, and she lives with her family in Alberta, Canada. Visit her at CarolynFisher.com.

Carolyn Fisher's profile page

"This book shares information about weeds which the reader will find fascinating. The word “weeds” usually conjures up plants that are unwanted; Jenson-Elliot presents weeds in a different light. . . . The full-page illustrations are beautiful, using earth colors. . . . This book would be a wonderful read-aloud."

Library Media Connection, August/September 2014, Recommended

"With a text that celebrates their perseverance, endnotes that describe their uses and illustrations that commemorate their beauty, this book invites young readers to re-examine their view of weeds. . . . Elegant language and incidental rhymes make these pages as fun to read aloud as they are to pore over. . . . This fact-filled picture book that reads like poetry may well cause young readers to rethink the idea of unwanted guests in the garden."

Shelf Awareness, March 4, 2014

""Good or bad, weeds offer endless opportunities to study one of nature's most wonderful tools: adaptation," writes Jenson-Elliott.... The many intriguing details will leave readers with the understanding that these plants are fighters."

Publishers Weekly, February 2014

"The language is lovely here, as seeds shoot, swirl, and poke, finding "a way to live where other plants can't grow." A little girl and her dog anchor the picture book, moving through beautiful natural landscapes…. An eye-opening look at what folks generally consider to be a nuisance."

Booklist Online, February 2014

"Instead of lamenting their pesky invasiveness, Jenson-Elliott celebrates weeds for their heartiness and ability to disseminate and adapt...the bold colors of the mixed media/digital collage illustrations do an admirable job of making the ordinary become stunning. More detailed information about how weeds can actually be useful despite their reputation can be found in the back matter, along with a list both identifying and offering further facts about the plants pictured in the book.... Expect to have readers rooting and exploring for the ubiquitous plants."

School Library Journal, February 2014