‘The Mushroom Fan Club’
By Elise Gravel
(56 pages, Children’s Nonfiction Graphic Novel, 2018)
Growing up, I always thought mushrooms were gross. They were the slimy, dirt-tasting sponges that my dad tried to slip into dinner without my knowledge. I’ve since changed my opinion on fungi – in fact I’ve become slightly obsessed. Now, I’m not a mycologist by any means, but I do fancy myself a budding fungi fanatic. I discovered “The Mushroom Fan Club” one afternoon in the Children’s Room of the library, and I was immediately hooked. I thought it would be akin to Katie Scott’s “Fungarium” (a large, illustrated guide to mushrooms), except this book turned out to be more of a graphic novel with cartoon illustrations of googly-eyed, smiling mushrooms. Needless to say, I loved it.
Elise Gravel’s book is a great introduction to fungi for young people. It features simple, yet colorful art of mushrooms in the wild and infographics of their parts. The eye-catching colors and fun art may be what initially draws the reader in, but it is full of information about our fungi pals, too. Gravel introduces many different varieties of mushrooms, including where you may find them and other interesting attributes they may possess. It’s very easily digestible for a young reader and easy to understand. This book isn’t just a boring old science tomb, either. It is also, in part, a journal of Gravel’s experience searching for mushrooms with her children.
“The Mushroom Fan Club” is a great opportunity to get your little ones interested in the weird world of mushrooms and learn about a part of nature they may not always see. Fungi are an important part of our ecosystem, and they sure are cool to look at, too!
Visit Concord Public Library at concordpubliclibrary.net
Shane Phillips
