Description

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A beautifully illustrated picture book that gives parents a way to discuss marijuana with children without encouraging them to use it.

“Funny . . . offbeat . . . a riot, with a series of characters explaining the glory of cannabis to a young girl and her mother.” —New York Post

It’s Just a Plant is a children’s book that follows the journey of a young girl as she learns about the marijuana plant from a cast of characters including her parents, a local farmer, a doctor, and a police officer.

Marijuana can be hard to talk about. Many parents have tried it, millions use it, and most feel awkward about disclosing such histories (often ducking the question), for fear that telling kids the truth might encourage them to experiment too. Meanwhile, the “drug facts” children learn in school can be more frightening than educational, blaming pot for everything from teenage pregnancy to terrorism. A child’s first awareness of drugs should come from a better source.

It’s Just a Plant is a story for parents who want to discuss the complexities of pot with their kids in a thoughtful, fact-oriented manner. The book also features an afterword by Marsha Rosenbaum, PhD, founder of the Safety First Project for drug education and director emerita of the San Francisco office of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation’s leading organization working to end the war on drugs.

About the Author

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RICARDO CORTÉS is the #1 New York Times best-selling illustrator of Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach and Party: A Mystery, by the acclaimed author Jamaica Kincaid. Cortés has written and illustrated books including Sea Creatures from the Sky and A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and on CNN, Fox News, and the Late Show with David Letterman. You can see his work at Rmcortes.com, or on Twitter and Instagram at @Rmcortes. His latest work is the updated edition of It’s Just a Plant.

Praise For…

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Cortés’ book offers an opportunity for parents to discuss many aspects of the conversation around marijuana.
— High Times

Absolutely ‘kid friendly’ in tone, organization and presentation, It’s Just a Plant: A Children’s Story about Marijuana is especially recommended for family, preschool, elementary school, and community library . . . collections.

— Midwest Book Review

I highly recommend this little book . . . It’s a jewel.
— Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance

Part of a growing category of books that attempt to explain difficult and complex topics to children, simply. Whether you’re looking at Death Is Stupid, by Anastasia Higginbotham, or A is for Activist, by Innosanto Nagara, children’s fiction is much less likely to shy away from topics that were previously reserved for those considered to be ‘adults,’ or to cloud those topics in euphemisms.

— Literary Hub, selected by Molly Odintz for LitHub Recommends

We’ve all heard the sentiment that the more we keep our kids away from something and paint it as ‘dangerous’ or ‘bad,’ the more likely they are to be interested in whatever that is. The same can be said for conversations like his—if we avoid or brush off any questions relating to marijuana for our kids, they’re going to get the information from somewhere and it just feels a whole lot safer knowing they’re getting the right information from you—or a book like this.
— Fatherly