As the title suggests, Fungi Grow by Maria Gianferrari (illustrated by Diana Sudyka; Beach Lane Books, 2023) is a nonfiction picture book focusing on the growth, spread, and purpose of fungi through the world. With realistic illustrations, a variety of fonts, and both a storyline and sidebar facts, this picture book provides a welcome and necessary introduction to this part of life that is less well-known than animals and plants.
The storyline has a few different types of font to provide engaging decoration for a group read aloud or a one-on-one reading time. Some is in cursive (mostly the common refrain “fungi grow”), some is in a clear handwriting font, and other words match the feeling of the words: “PLOP” in watercolor rain-colored wobbly letters, “BRANCH” with wood-like edges, and “SWIRL” in swirly letters. Occasional swirly frames emphasize a specific fungi, but then spores and roots or other parts of the illustration burst out into the subsequent pages. Most pages are full-page gauche watercolor and digital illustrations, and always realistic, with each fungi painstakingly detailed. Most pages also has at least one factual sidebar about with details about the comment from the storyline text (explaining which fungi poison or kill and which fungi heal, for example).
This book provides a lot of factual detail about fungi, and although many children will not delightfully pour over the facts about mushrooms, molds, and other fungi, it is a necessary addition, since books like this about fungi are hard to find in picture book format (at least from my experience). The four pages of endmatter teach to avoid mushrooms in the wild, more details about how they can help, fun facts, and a life cycle. There is also an extended reading list with lots of other source materials (source list, for further reading, and websites), providing the reader the assurance that this is a factual book.
A few minor issues catch my eye, such as the cursive (most kids have trouble reading cursive with reading cursive including my older kids who studied it with me for years) and the presence of TOO MANY sidebars crowding some pages. And, although it’s correct grammar to say “Fungi grow” rather than “fungus grows,” it still sounds odd to my English-thinking brain.
These actually immaterial issues don’t detract from the main educational value of Fungi Grow and I’m pleased it has been added to the growing list of picture books about fungi that will help this generation of children learn more about it than I did in my childhood. I don’t remember reading any book about fungi as a child.
