Mushroom Rain

Mushroom Rain

Product Description What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous and yet still eaten by humans, and even help create rain? The answer is mushrooms! From their hidden networks underground to the fruiting body above, mushrooms can do incredible things. But don't call them plants--mushrooms are fungi. They're more closely related to animals like you! Through lyrical text and colorful, detailed artwork, the wonderful, mysterious, and sometimes bizarre world of mushrooms is explored. Back matter includes a glossary, additional mushroom facts, and a science activity. From School Library Journal K-Gr 3-This showstopper of a picture book will wake kids up to the wonders of the botanical underpinnings and incredible aspects of the science of mushrooms. Lyrical text describes the infinite variety of mushrooms that spring up after a rain and then explains how the mushrooms live on even when they appear to have disappeared. A vast network of threads can spread underground for miles and thousands of years, waiting for the next rain in order to fruit again. Raindrops themselves form around mushroom spores that have flown up into the sky in a mycological cycle of life. Stunning illustrations glow, often against dark backgrounds, and demonstrate a dazzling mastery of color and texture. Back matter in the form of a scrapbook goes into greater detail, including a diagram of mushroom parts and an activity for making spore prints. VERDICT Pictures and words fizz with the magic that surrounds the quiet work of mushrooms and should send kids looking to learn more.-Jan Aldrich Solowa(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Review STARRED REVIEW - "This showstopper of a picture book will wake kids up to the wonders of the