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Fungarium Review

This rare and wondrous book will capture the imagination of fungi fans. You might be thinking that’s a fairly small demographic, but once kids see this graceful compilation that looks like a quaint nineteenth-century natural science tract—features detailed, labeled illustrations in vivid colors that pop off pages—and read about how fungi are actually closer to animals than plants, they’ll be hooked. . . The text is authoritative and informative, but the real attraction is the artwork. There are glorious spreads of ecosystems, and even the end papers are worth a look. . . This will make a handsome addition to STEM collections and should attract browsers and budding mycologists alike.
—Booklist (starred review)

Led by Gaya, a team of mycologists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, offers an irresistible, oversized introduction to fungi. Dedicated to the “next generation of mycologists,” this well-designed handbook approximates a tour of a museum, or “fungarium,” complete with foil ticket for entry and four galleries—“Fungal Biology,” “Fungal Diversity,” “Fungal Interactions,” and “Fungi and Humans.” Stop-you-in-your-tracks biological illustrations colorfully depict spores, yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. . . Even the monochromatic endpapers are frameworthy. . . Kid-pleasing macabre facts abound. . . An immersive, exquisitely illustrated trip to the fungal kingdom.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This beautifully illustrated title is a detailed survey of all types of fungi. . . . The concept of a museum is highlighted in the incredible illustrations.
—School Library Journal

The author’s direct language welcomes the reader into the captivating world of fungi. The readers will feel as if they are entering into a real museum as they are directed to tour each gallery in a wonderful reading experience. . . . Opposite the text are the sumptuous and colorful illustrations. The renderings are elegant, vivid, and exquisitely detailed. . . . The museum is dense with information about the fungal world, and this title represents a fascinating and beautiful work of art which explores the rarely-visited world of fungi.
—School Library Connection

These woody mushrooms get a ‘gallery’ of their own in the gorgeous, museum-evoking pages of ‘Fungarium’. . . Illustrated by Katie Scott and written by Ester Gaya, with the help of a phalanx of specialists, ‘Fungarium’ presents a jaw-dropping vision of the multifarious and largely hidden world of organisms that are, we read, ‘more closely related to animals than they are to plants.’
—The Wall Street Journal

[Katie Scott’s] illustrations are detailed and realistic, but they don’t feel like a text book. There’s a life and light to her illustrations, and that’s on full display in Fungarium. Ester Gaya tells fascinating stories and facts about a world of fungi, from the portobello you might find in the grocery store to the penicillin at the pharmacy.—Book Riot

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