© chameleonseye | Getty ImagesĬlimbing plants such as sweetpeas (Lathyrus odoratus) feel about for support to cling to, 2 while other plants such as Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) get stressed by touch, which stunts their growth.

The traps of the Venus flytrap are made up of modified leaves that are cleverly evolved to catch unsuspecting insects. Research into their awareness has revealed the incredible ways plants sense their environment: from 'hearing' their predators, 'smelling' their neighbours 1and even 'mimicking' the shapes of their plant hosts.

Sessile – or stalkless – plants evolved to be incredibly sensitive to their environment in order to survive. Unlike most humans and animals though, when plants face predation, damage, or environmental changes they can’t run away and hide. Plants can sense a lot about their environment and it can cause them stress. Many animals also rely on these senses to avoid being eaten, or to find food and safe shelter. These senses help to build a picture of our surroundings, so that we can respond to any sudden changes. Humans navigate their way through the world by relying on five basic senses: touch, sight, sound, smell, and taste. Invite the children to describe what they see (the same little boy playing with his father/uncle).The unbelievable ways plants use the same senses as humans. look together at the endpapers at the end of the book.Invite the children to describe what they see (the little boy doing things on his own) look together at the endpapers at the front of the book.Explain that sometimes the endpapers of books are just blank pages but sometimes they are illustrated and it can be interesting to look at those illustrations show children the endpapers of the book (the insides of the front and back covers).turn to the last page and ask the children who the characters are (father and son – or uncle?).What do you think the message of this book is? (write responses on the classroom whiteboard) They have a message they want to communicate – something they want to tell readers or make readers think about. tell the children that an author always writes a book for a reason.ask children what they thought about of the book.

Guys have feelings too