Plants that Never Ever Bloom by Ruth Heller (Puffin, 1984) is an older picture book that provides examples off various fungi that grow around the world as well as evergreens, illustrating how these living organisms do not bloom as we might assume all plants do. Since it is older, the illustrations and cover have that old look to them, which might turn off the young child. But even more so, because fungi are no longer classified as plants, the basic premise of the book is off-putting.
It is too bad because I really like the things it teaches. The emphasis is on fungi that grow in forests, how they are alive, how they grow through spores instead of seeds, and the variety of fungi on earth. Ending pages also use evergreens as examples of other plants that do not bloom, even naming them gymnosperms to add a bit of scientific vocabulary, even in this picture book for very young children.
A light rhyme makes it a pleasant read aloud. It is so natural that one might not even realize it rhymes upon first beginning to read the text. If only this pleasant read aloud clarified, somehow, that fungi differ from plants in that they do not photosynthesize! There are learning moments missed, and this book could do with a major update.
