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Get to know the kingdom of Fungi like never before with this unique book that blends the science of mycology with lyrical prose and watercolor paintings.
Take an extraordinary expedition into the diverse and enchanting realm of fungi. The Wonder of Mushrooms is where science meets poetry, where ancient wisdom converges with modern discovery. Maya Jewell Zeller and Jenny deFouw Geuder guide you into the hidden world beneath our feet. With a blend of scientific insight and artistic appreciation, the authors portray the crucial role of mushrooms in our ecosystem and celebrate their profound cultural significance.
Learn about mushrooms’ history and lore. Appreciate their myriad colors, shapes, and forms, as well as their vital role as nature’s decomposers. Discover astonishing facts, such as how some bioluminescent species glow like fallen stars and where the extraordinary Humongous Fungus spans 2,385 acres. Perhaps most importantly, find out how fungi might prove to be humanity’s unexpected saviors, offering solutions for everything from environmental pollution to sustainable architecture. Maya’s lyrical prose pairs with Jenny’s bright watercolors, creating an unparalleled ode to these foraging favorites that feels like both a scientific textbook and a beautiful gift book.
Whether you're an artist, naturalist, or someone who’s simply curious about the natural world, this book presents a profound journey into the kingdom of Fungi, where beauty and science intertwine in unexpected ways.
The Wonder of Mushrooms earned Blue Ribbon honors from the Museum Store Association (MSA) Buyers’ Choice Awards, in the Books & Publications category, and Silver Medal honors from the IBPA+PubWest Book Design Awards, in the Cover—Small Format category.
Book Features:
- Lyrical prose that blends science with literary references and poetry
- Professional watercolors that help make complex scientific concepts accessible
- Wide range of topics, including anatomy, biology, and ecology
- Educational tribute that promotes wonder and curiosity
“Beautiful, beguiling book... The Wonder of Mushrooms is an informative, charming introduction to the kingdom of fungi.”
—Rebecca Foster, Foreword Reviews
“This delightful marriage of fungal poetry and fungal watercolors is the perfect gift for the beginning mycophile, be that individual a child, an adult, or even an elder. May the fungi be with you, it eagerly declares, and if you purchase the book, they will indeed be with you!”
—Lawrence Millman, author of Fungipedia
“The Wonder of Mushrooms shows us the world of mushrooms through a poet’s eyes and with the magic of a painter’s strokes. Each line in this book contains astonishing science and lyrical beauty.... This book is the kind of delight you might find at the center of a fairy ring.”
—Kathryn Nuernberger, author of HELD: Essays in Belonging
“This marvelous new book guides us through the enchanted territory that literature and mycology share. Zeller’s precise yet poetic language emphasizes the otherworldliness of the fungal kingdom; lovely watercolor illustrations by Jenny deFouw Geuder likewise balance the scientific with the mystical. I recommend The Wonder of Mushrooms to readers of all ages—as long as they’re willing to be carried away.”
—Lesley Wheeler, author of Mycocosmic
Maya Jewell Zeller is a poet, essayist, educator, editor, and recipient of fellowships and residencies from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, Centrum, Artist Trust, University of Oxford, and the H.J. Andrews Experimental Research Forest. Her most recent poetry collection, out takes/ glove box, was selected by Eduardo Corral as winner of the 2022 New American Poetry Prize; she is also the author of the memoir-in-essays Raised by Ferns, coauthor of Advanced Poetry: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology, and coeditor of Evergreen: Grim Tales & Verses from the Gloomy Northwest. Maya teaches writing and publishing for Central Washington University, as well as poetry and nature writing for Western Colorado University’s low-residency MFA program. She lives in the Inland Northwest.
Jenny deFouw Geuder is an artist and educator from Michigan. She has taught art at the middle-school level for 20 years and has continued her own artistic interests on the side, both in commissioned work and personal topics. She is the award-winning author and illustrator of Drawn to Birds: A Naturalist's Sketchbook and Nature Explorer. While she primarily works in watercolors, she also enjoys oils, ceramics, and graphite.
A Kingdom of Fungi
A Rainbow of Color
A Myriad of Shapes
Forms & Caps & Gills
Crinkle Skirts to a Fan That Frills: Gills
And Some Have Pores...
Spore Prints as Upside-Down Flowers
A Web Beneath the Forest Floor
Mycelial Multitudes
The Warm and Necessary Breath of Decomposition
Worlds unto Themselves
A Fecund Celebration of Death
A Brief History of Foxfire
Treasure from the Forest
Of Mushrooms and Mordants
Witches Know What’s What
Inside the Fairy Ring
An Unexpected Savior?
A Sampling of Words for “Mushroom” from Around the World
Mushroom Names
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Works Cited and Further Reading