April 1, 2023
Grades K-2 This entry in the See It Grow! series (6 titles) introduces the concept of fungi (living things that grow from spores) and describes the life cycle of a mushroom: a spore grows strings that form stalks with caps that eventually release more spores. Chang describes an ideal habitat (cool and damp with dead plant matter) and explains that some mushrooms can grow very quickly, doubling in size in a day. She also mentions uses (tea, food, and ink) but offers no additional details. The illustrations include crisp full-color photographs and some drawings, rendered mostly in blues and greens. Important words appear in bold type and are defined in the glossary. Although no individual species are identified, and there is no discussion of poisonous fungi, this makes an attractive introduction to this topic.
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