Children’s and Young Adult Library Director, DeAnn Campbell, recommends Mushroom Rain by Laura Zimmerman.
Mushrooms, to me, have always been enchanting. Maybe it is the prominence of red roofed mushroom houses for tiny mice that were the backdrop in children’s stories, or the magical appearance of a mushroom fairy ring in my middle school reading of Where the Red Fern Grows, but mushrooms have always sparked my curiosity. Yet, I don’t know an awful lot about them, and when I don’t know a lot about something, I often find that a children’s nonfiction book is a good start.
“What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous. . . and even help create rain?” Mushrooms, of course.
Mushroom Rain by Laura Zimmerman is a very easy nonfiction book accessible to even a very small child. It reads like a picture book with very sparse text about these fungi. Want to explore even more? The back matter of the book provides information for an older, perhaps school-age reader. A bibliography provides others sources you might want to check out for a deeper dive into the world of mushrooms. The book is beautifully illustrated by Jamie Green.
The book is factual but every bit as enchanting as the fairy tales of talking mice using mushrooms as umbrellas and refuge from a rainfall. I love how Zimmerman makes something scientific easily accessible to a young child, sparking a curiosity that will grow into larger more complicated texts. I also love that when I’m ready for more information about mushrooms, the library’s collection can provide. We have 110 books about mushrooms ranging from this one (one of the simplest) to those that advance in reading level and complexity. From the smallest child to the most advanced and ardent mushroom expert, there is a book about mushrooms at The Community Library for you.
