The World's Best Class Plant

4.3

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Author(s)

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Lynnor Bontiago

Publisher

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

May 30, 2023

ISBN

978-0525516354

Buy This Book

An irresistible picture book about a boy and his classmates who long for a class pet, but discover the joys and rewards of nurturing a class plant.

Room 107 has a cockatiel. Room 108 has a chinchilla. Even the Art Room has a bearded dragon. But in Room 109, Arlo's classroom, there is a plant. A mostly green, hardly growing, never moving plant. Even though it doesn't squeak, whistle, or whimper, Arlo’s teacher says the plant is “more than enough excitement for us.” But what could possibly be exciting about a plant?

One day, Arlo decides to name the plant Jerry. Something about naming the plant makes it more exciting. As the class learns to take care of Jerry, he starts to grow . . . greener and longer and twistier. And before long it's clear that something amazing has taken root in Arlo's classroom.

Editor review

1 review

Funny and Heartwarming

June 28, 2023 (Updated: June 08, 2026)

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

The World's Best Class Plant is an engaging picture book that made me want to become a plant lady. Arlo is jealous of the other classes that have cool animals as their class pet, while his class just has a plant. Arlo's teacher whose name changes depending on Arlo's mood (i.e. Mr. Bummer, Mr. Boring) thinks a plant is exciting enough but Arlo and his classmates beg to differ. When the class decides to name the plant, things begin to change. The class agrees on the name Jerry. Naming the plant changes the students' attitude, and now they are excited to take care of Jerry. The whole school comes out to celebrate the plant, and makes class 109 so proud of their plant.

What I liked: The illustrations are adorable, and I love how diverse Arlo's class is. The book is a good balance of silly and heartwarming. It is touching to see how once the children become interested in Jerry, they want to learn more about the plant species to help their class plant flourish. Whenever a fiction book provides additional information about the topics discussed, I enjoy it. On the last pages of the book, different types of plants are shown and the environments in which they thrive are explained.

A fun and cute book for school-aged children, The World's Best Class Plant is a great read.