Fungi Are... More Than Mushrooms by Alisha Gabriel is a meaningful gift to young explorers and future scientists from four to ten. This richly illustrated educational book shows fungi from different surprising angles. What are fungi? What role do they play in nature? How are they connected to other integral parts of the environment like plants, animals, and insects? Fungi travel, sustain other organisms, and even search for food! We can find fungi not only in the forests. We use them to bake bread, make cheese, and other yummy products. Oyster mushrooms have abilities worth knowing about. Fungi impress us with their forms and colors. Do you want to learn what mycelium is and why it is important? This book will help expand your knowledge about fungi.

Alisha Gabriel's Fungi Are... More Than Mushrooms offers amazing facts about fungi's fragile but vital realm, many of which I didn't know. The author uses accurate metaphors while describing fungi and their functions. Thus, a puffball mushroom's spores look "like smoke from a chimney." Such comparisons make it easy for children to imagine and remember this educational information. The book will inspire young readers to explore fungi and be more attentive to the natural world around them during excursions and hikes in parks and forests. This flawlessly edited book also has a developmental game for children. Vivien Sárkány's whimsical illustrations excellently clarify the topic for readers too young to grasp all the details of the text. The calming hues of the pictures help hold children's attention. This informative book is a significant and compelling addition to school libraries, and I highly recommend it.

I think of fungi as Mother Nature’s work of art. Their unique shapes and ability to adapt are remarkable. There truly is beauty in living fungal art. In Alisha Gabriel’s Fungi Are…More Than Mushrooms, so many interesting facts are shared about fungi. For example, did you know that fungi are recyclers, explorers, and even homes for other living creatures? And, they are an essential component of life on Earth. They disperse in multiple ways, grow, and provide food for animals; they also help bees heal and trees communicate. Is there anything else on this planet that is as versatile as the often-overlooked fungi?

Alisha Gabriel’s picture book, Fungi Are…More Than Mushrooms, is an entertaining and educational book about something as simple as fungi (or mushrooms). It’s a very down to earth book, from its instructive language to its superb illustrations by Vivien Sárkány. The author presents a story about fungi, using simple language on each page. Highlights appear at the top of each page, with a detailed illustration beneath followed by a more thorough explanation of what the author means. The illustration furthers the author’s description. The author also makes this story into a game, providing a list of items at the end, complete with an illustration and a single word for the young reader to find in the book itself. This is a great way to teach young readers some simple words and help them build their reading vocabulary. Everything is beautifully presented.