October 30, 2024

The second installment of the hilarious and informative children’s graphic novel series ODDBALL HISTORIES by Andy Warner ‘12 is out now! This time, Andy explores SPICES AND SPUDS and our long complicated history with plants.

“A concise overview of a complex and fascinating history presented in a digestible visual medium.”—Kirkus Reviews

“An introduction to plants as crops that entertains as well as it educates. A helpful purchase for covering changes over time and the interdependence of trade and agriculture.”—School Library Journal

“Readers will likely devour this ambitious and immersive survey of agricultural connections and interdependence.”—Shelf Awareness

Some trivia questions from publisher Little, Brown Ink to test your plant knowledge:

• Did you know that a pepper blockade led to the Age of Exploration? 
• How about that huge wheat barges once kept Rome running with free bread? 
• How corn went from the Aztecs’ floating fields to fueling your soda?

Andy Warner is the New York Times bestselling author of Brief Histories of Everyday Objects and This Land is My Land. The first installment of his children’s graphic novel series, ODDBALL HISTORIES, explored PESTS AND PETS—the animals we love, the ones we make use of, and the ones that make use of us. He was a contributing editor at the Nib and teaches cartooning at Stanford University, California College of the Arts, and the Animation Workshop in Denmark and is a graduate of The Center for Cartoon Studies. His comics have been published by Slate, Fusion, American Public Media, popsci.com, KQED, IDEO, The Center for Constitutional Rights, UNHCR, UNRWA, UNICEF, and Buzzfeed. He was a recipient of the 2018 Berkeley Civic Arts Grant and was the 2019, 2021, and 2023 Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Artist-in-Residence. Visit andywarnercomics.com for more information about his work.