Elinor Wonders Why: The Mystery of the Zigzag Plant

Elinor and her friends become plant detectives in this Elinor Wonders Why picture book for young children.

Elinor and Olive check on their class plants before they leave school for the weekend. The plants have sprouted since they were planted as seeds. Now they’re one crayon tall! The friends are pleased with their progress. But when Elinor and Olive get back to school on Monday, they discover that one of the plants has grown in a zigzag - up, then to the side, then up again. Their teacher, Ms. Mole, told them most plants only grow up, toward the sun. So, what could have happened to this one?

Young children will have their curiosity piqued and their science knowledge expanded in this Elinor Wonders Why picture book, based on the Daytime Emmy–nominated PBS KIDS series of the same name created by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. By asking questions, making observations and drawing conclusions, lovable characters Elinor, Olive and Ari figure out that the pot was knocked over just before the weekend, so the plant had to change direction to keep growing up - mystery solved! Extra plant facts, a key vocabulary word and a simple activity in the back matter broaden the content. This entertaining read doubles as a resource for early life science explorations of growth and changes in plants, the needs of living things and the characteristics of living things.