The Stuff that Stuff is Made of

The Stuff that Stuff is Made of (Magic Cat Publishing) Jonathon Drori & Raxenne Maniquiz & Jiatong Liu HB NF 64 pages RRP $34.99 ISBN 9781917044172

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Jonathon Drori is a British environmentalist and author, known for his bestselling books Around the World in 80 Trees and Around the World in 80 Plants, which explore the cultural, historical, and scientific significance of trees and plants. This is his first children’s book.

Raxenne Maniquiz is an illustrator and graphic designer in the Philippines. Her work is infused with native botanicals. Her paint strokes and contrasting colours create beautiful images.

Jiatong Liu is a Chinese born illustrator who lives in London. He became a freelance illustrator and teacher in 2021 and has won several prestigious awards for his illustration work. He has quite a distinctive illustrative style.

How 30 plants are used in everyday objects is explored in detail on double page spreads. The right side has a labelled, close‑up illustration of the plant and some of its products and the left side has stories and fascinating bits of information.

Jonathon Drori’s meticulous research and scientific knowledge shines. Every double page spread introduces a particular plant, its origins, history and cultural significance. Tea. The emerald-green leaves of the tea plant are used to make one of the world’s most popular drinks. Each piece of information has a bold face header. A reader can choose to read as little or as much about a particular plant as they wish. It is interesting learning how much trade opened the world up to different plants.

The language inside is targeted more to an older child reader and it introduces new vocabulary. It makes a refreshing and stimulating drink for us! Different countries and places are explored as well as plants. The information suits a child or adult reader interested in learning fascinating facts about plants. Drori encourages learning about things that are generally unknown in our modern world. The text grows scientific and general knowledge and sparks curiosity.

Raxenne Maniquiz’s illustration style combines science and storytelling; her finely detailed textures give depth to plants and foliage and natural materials. Her illustrations support both information and wonder and spark a curiosity about plants and their important role in our world. Maniquiz focuses on the natural side like leaves, bark, seeds, roots.

Jiatong Liu’s illustrations focus on the human-made things to do with plants. He brings his illustrations to life primarily through digital illustration.  He has a distinct style that works well with Drori’s text and Maniquiz’s botanical style.

The Stuff That Stuff is Made of is a well-researched and beautifully illustrated book filled with wonder to give knowledge of how the things we use everyday are from plants and the surprising stories behind their creation. It is suitable for 8 years and older and is a non-fiction book that is dateless. I can see this book being a popular addition to classrooms and libraries. It is a rich resource for children who crave non-fiction books and really is a beautiful botanical gift for a child to explore a unique blend of science, technology and history.