Funki Fungi — Review

Thought for the Day:

“Writing a novel lets me intentionally dream while I’m still awake. I can continue yesterday’s dream today, something you can’t normally do in everyday life.”
~ Haruki Murakami ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Lady Jabberwocky has 3 Terrifying Tips on Scaring Your Readers HERE on her Write with Heart blog.

I really have to remind myself to read my work out loud. I’m never comfortable doing it, but I know it’s important. HERE D. Wallace Peach on Story Empire Blog gives us 16 Reasons to Read Your Work Aloud.

I have a couple of fight scenes in a Tween novel I’m working on, so I was interested when I saw the post HERE on Bookfox with 21 Rules to Write a Fight Scene. It has some great tips.

It looks like the good doctors have finally gotten my medications figured out. It seems I have a bad allergy to sulfa medications, and that is what they had been giving me that sent me to the hospital last time and sent me spiraling down at home. There are only three antibiotics that can be used to treat the particular kind of pneumonia I have, and two of them are sulfa-based. That is no bueno for me. I am now on the third antibiotic and am starting to feel like my old self (old being the operative word ;-)). My daughter, Maggie, arrived from New York for a good, long visit this week. She will be here for the month, and it is so nice to have her nearby. It also takes a load off my other daughter, Sara, who has done most of the heavy lifting through my illness. Life is good right now.

A couple months ago, Sue Heavenrich reached out to me and offered to have a copy of her and Alisha Gabriel‘s fabulous new book, Funky Fungi: 30 Activities for Exploring Molds, Mushrooms, Lichen, and More, sent to me, but I know how hard author copies are to get, so instead, I asked my library to order copies and told Sue I would post a review when I received the book from the library. I’m happy to say my local library ordered six copies! But I didn’t know it would be so popular, and I would have to wait so long to get it! It finally came in this week. What a spectacular book! I think if such books had been around when I was young, there would be a lot more scientists in the world. It is just the kind of book that will inspire kids to explore the sciences.

I didn’t realize that this was a book published by Chicago Review Press. This is one of my favorite publishers for educational books for kids that kids never seem to guess are educational. (I will have another of their books for review soon.) They just think they are fun. And they are. This one is beautifully laid out with lots of fun graphics, gorgeous photographs of the strange and fascinating subjects of the book, and lots of activity ideas that will draw kids in and get them learning. The opening chapter invites kids to become explorers with a homemade fungi journal and an explorer’s pack with all the tools necessary to make for successful field trips. There are experiments to do — Dissect a Mushroom or Find Out if Mushrooms Absorb Water — and recipes to try — Make Your Own Yeast or Cook a Corn Mushroom Taco — and projects to make — Make Paper Out of Fungi or Bundle Dye with Fungi. In addition, there is a good glossary, a list of online resources, a teacher’s guide, and a bibliography including a list of field guides to buy. There is even one that can be downloaded that is listed in the Explorer’s Pack page. This is a great book for classrooms, homeschoolers, and just plain curious kids. Don’t miss it.

Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.