The best introductory book on the subject examines plant structures and the problems they present to illustrators, then discusses the artist's tools and how to use them: pencils, erasers, papers, brushes, watercolors, gouache, and acrylics.

Gr. 3-6. Like others in Lee J. Ames' popular, ongoing, virtually wordless series, this book, which he's done with P. Lee Ames, will be a great help to art novices wanting to hone skills while turning out impressive, sophisticated sketches. As usual, the process starts with a foundation sketch of simple lines and shapes. Then there's a series of increasingly detailed pictures (there are between 6 and 12 separate sketches on a page) that culminate in a fully developed drawing. The difficulty level of the plants is nicely varied, and the sequences are as thoughtfully orchestrated as ever. However, the green pencil used in the demonstration sketches is occasionally too light to be seen easily. Artists who want to search out more about an interesting-looking specimen will appreciate the inclusion of each plant's common and scientific names.