About the Holiday
Whether you say “Yes, please!” to mushrooms on pizza, in salads, and in soups, stews, and other dishes or just like to stop and admire them in your yard or on a walk, National Mushroom Month is for you! The holiday was first created by the U.S. Mushroom Council as part of the Mushroom Promotion, Research & Consumer Information Act of 1990 that was instituted to raise awareness and an appreciation for mushrooms, both non-edible and nutritious edible varieties. President George H.W. Bush signed the Act into law on November 28, 1990, and the holiday was first celebrated in 1993. Celebrate your love of mushrooms today and all through the year with your favorite mushroom dish—and today’s book!
Mushroom Rain
Written by Laura K. Zimmermann | Illustrated by Jamie Green
You know how it is with mushrooms—they appear suddenly on the path you take every day, on trees, in the middle of lawns, and each with their own shape and color. Mushrooms are surprising, beautiful, and mysterious. In her evocative, lyrical text, Laura K. Zimmermann takes readers into the forests, meadows, and even up into sky to learn about these plants that can oftentimes seem otherworldly.
Image copyright Jamie Green, 2022, text copyright Laura K. Zimmermann, 2022. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.
Under a starlit sky, Zimmermann gives children a peek into a darkened woods where “delicate umbrellas open, red octopus arms rise from the ground, cupped nests with eggs appear,” and another cluster of mushrooms glow “a spooky green.” These fungi don’t just look unusual, they are “bizarre blooms with strange scents,” and Zimmermann describes them—”some like bubble gum, coconut, maple syrup…”— so readers can imagine the aromas that mix in the night air. Can you smell them?
Image copyright Jamie Green, 2022, text copyright Laura K. Zimmermann, 2022. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.
You’ve seen mushrooms with notches and nibbles, scratches and scars, and even meandering trails on their stems and tops. “Many are tattered and torn by hungry visitors chomping, scraping, gnawing, and burrowing” into the soft flesh. And while some are consumed where they grow, others are taken away by a variety of mushroom hunters—”harvested and stored” for another day.
Image copyright Jamie Green, 2022, text copyright Laura K. Zimmermann, 2022. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.
Then, just as suddenly as they appeared, mushrooms disappear. But are they gone completely? Zimmermann leads children underground to explore the vast network of roots beneath a forest floor. She floats them on breezes that send spores far and wide. And she sweeps them into the sky to soar with other spores into the clouds, where they’ll discover that an astonishing phenomenon occurs to begin mushrooms growing once again.
Following the text, extensive illustrated back matter reveals more about mushrooms: where they live, who eats them, how spores grow into mushrooms, how they help seed rainclouds, and how they are different from plants. Zimmermann also defines each part of a mushroom, describes the biggest mushroom-producing fungus and the largest living organism in the world, and shows kids how to use a mushroom to make a spore print.
Image copyright Jamie Green, 2022, text copyright Laura K. Zimmermann, 2022. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.
While Laura K. Zimmermann is taking children on a verbal sensory tour through the darkened world where mushrooms thrive, Jamie Green provides a feast for the eyes with her glorious illustrations of these odd colorful fungi jutting from the ground, posing, and jockeying for position. Some stand close together, as endearing as a parent and child, or like a large family at a photo shoot while others reach upwards like roaring campfires. Turn the page and readers find themselves in the midst of a glowing alien landscape staring up into the dark night sky along mushrooms frilled and gilled while also aware of the small creatures on the forest floor having dinner or a snack. Green then takes kids underground and into the air, to show how spores find ingenious ways to grow and break the soil once again.
Arresting in both its beauty and enlightening facts that will excite readers’ curiosity, Mushroom Rain is a glowing invitation into the mysterious world of mushrooms and will spur readers to learn more about these delights of nature. The book, along with its extensive back matter and the materials found on Laura K. Zimmermann’s website (link below), would make a superb addition to any lessons on nature, the environment, and ecosystems for schools and homeschoolers, and is a must for school and public library collections.
Ages 5 – 8
Sleeping Bear Press, 2022 | ISBN 978-1534111509
Discover more about Laura K. Zimmermann, her book, and her other writing for children on her website. You’ll also find lots of mushroom-related activities, crafts, posters, puzzles, and more to enjoy with Mushroom Rain. There’s also a Teacher’s Guide for educators.
To learn more about Jamie Green, her books, and her art, visit her website.
You can find Mushroom Rain at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
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