 | Fascinating Fungi: Nourishers, Killers, Connectors, And Healers Author: Kenney, Karen Latchana | |
| Price: $27.99 | ||
Summary:
From helping bread rise to capturing pollutants, fungi can do many incredible and even unexpected things. Explore the world of fungi, including strange sights, medicine, underground webs, and more.
Reviews:
School Library Journal (+) (00/10/25)
Booklist (+) (12/01/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 10/01/2025 *Starred Review* From the eye-catching color photographs to the perfectly named chapter titles, readers will be hooked on this fun and informative book about fungi that truly lives up to its title. Readers will learn what fungi are, how they have evolved, their structure, and how they eat and expand their spores. Chapters introduce distinct types of mushrooms, from “the beauties” (mauve parachute, purple pinwheel) to “the oddities” that are grotesque and terrifying (bleeding tooth, devil’s fingers or octopus stinkhorn, and zombie ant fungus). Kenney also explains how certain fungi are poisonous, how fungi can be a source of food and drink, the healing and medicinal properties of fungi, and how they can ecologically save the planet by providing bees with antivirals (thus extending their lifespan) and through mycorestoration. Diagrams, graphs, and charts help readers visualize complex data, such as how underground fungal threads deliver nutrients to tree roots. Sidebars profile expert mycologists, interesting facts, and pop-culture trivia (The Last of Us television show is based on the video game focusing on a zombie-like fungal infection in humans). Back matter offers a glossary, mycophile tips, source notes, selected bibliography, further resources, and index. Highly recommended to seasoned “fungi-philes” and those unfamiliar with the threading marvels. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.
