This is a great first primer for those new to foraging. I appreciated the color, detailed photos of the plants so that people know what they are looking at.

I am an avid forager, but I've recently begun "eating wild" with my granddaughters, all of whom are early-elementary aged and younger. So, I've been looking for a beginner's guide to carry with us on our jaunts.

Good news: I FOUND IT!

Here's what I love most about Zachos's How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying:

1. The Organization: I love that the chapters are organized by where we might find the plants—everywhere, sunny or shady spots, wet areas. This makes it easy to see what we might look for depending on where we're exploring that day. For example, when the girls visit my house, they already know that the property has large, untended shady spaces and a swampy area. This makes it easy for us to use the guide to plan our search. The fact sheets at the end of each entry are also incredibly helpful.

2. The Photos: There are plenty of photos to help new foragers identify both the featured foragables and their most common look-alikes. We've already tested the usefulness by taking the tablet outside to identify mallow and Queen Anne's Lace (the girls giggled in delight at the "the queen has hairy legs" mnemonic). Between the photos and the written descriptions, even the four-year-old was able to determine when we'd found what we were looking for.

3. The Sass & the Suggestions: Throughout the book, Zachos is delightfully opinionated, letting readers know which plant parts are edible but, in her estimation, not worth the time or trouble. As someone who's foraged for years, I have to admit that our opinions generally align. I also appreciate how she repeatedly insists that we eat nothing that we're not 100% certain about (and, no, 99% certainty is not good enough!), while at the same time encouraging experimentation when it comes to eating and enjoying our wild harvest. And her chapter on preserving, complete with several very adaptable basic recipes, is just enough to get a beginner started confidently.

Despite the number of foraging books I already own (yes, I have a dedicated shelf for them), I will be ordering one more (hint: this one). I have no doubt that How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying will more than earn its place—and not just on the shelf. It'll be the handbook that stays in the day pack for impromptu wild food adventures.

A book "how to forage for wild foods without dying" has been a brilliant refresher for myself. I love foraging and even with lots of knowledge I am still in doubt and end up leaving lots of valuable plants behind, this refreshed my memory and gave new interesting insights on locations and how this might affect the foraging choice. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying is a detailed and helpful guide for anyone interested in foraging for food.

The advice and information is all very clear and easy to use. The photography was both nice to look at and great for providing a visual reference. This book would be a very helpful tool to stay safe while foraging.

This book is profoundly simple to use and uses very colorful images to meet the descriptions of each urban-foraged plant. From dandelion to curly dock, to daisy and wild garlic, the author surprises with in-depth descriptions that would make urban foraging easy for beginners. I must read for those who seek to harvest wild edibles. I definitely recommend it.

I have a lot of gen Z students interested in being sustainable who would love this book. One suggestion, put a quick reference chart at the end of the book so all plants can be easily identified.

tl;dr
A fairly straightforward and practical guide for beginners. The final chapter is a standout addition for anyone looking for how to preserve their foraged goods.

Thoughts
As always, the best way to learn how to forage is with a local guide, and the worst way is with an app (seriously, apps are SO bad at identifying plants - please do not use them). But I'm very pleased to see so many books available for beginners that make foraging accessible for people who might not have a local guide immediately available. This book covers a lot of easy entry points for beginners, including dandelions, stinging nettle, and ramps. It also covers some of the biggest beginner mistakes, including the very poisonous water hemlock. While the focus is on North American plants, a lot of these plants are available all over the globe, so there's a decent appeal here no matter where you live. My favorite part is the final chapter, which includes recipe/process guides on what to do with your foraged goodies. Notes on how to preserve items, infuse flavors, make wine, and other great food options are a huge bonus for books that typically don't explain how a lot of these things work. As is my usual hang-up with guide books, I could always use more photos - especially for plants with distinctly different stages - but this is a great starting point for anyone looking to get into foraging.

How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying by Ellen Zachos is so comprehensive and well done from format, the photos on the immense research that this book can take someone very apprehensive and strap them up with the knowledge to go forth and forage.

I love stuff like this and the native american in me wants to do this but I have so many allergies from my Swedish paternal side that I can have derma rashes from some plants but this book can take me from the geebies to the can dos.

It's feels like a bible for foraging for wild foods the book is so well done. All equipment listed and photographed with recipes for your hopeful bounty harvest. There is a great index and you couldn't want for better plant ID and photos on wild foraging.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the great publisher Story Publishing for again realizing how much a gap and need for the books they publish!!! And the opportunity to read and review How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying by Ellen Zachos. A complete gem of a book! An absolute five stars.

As someone who enjoys tent camping, and gardening, I found the title especially eye-catching since lately, I've tried to incorporate more native species into both my flower bed and garden. While camping or simply trail walking, I've found it intriguing to discover at first glance, many items which appear to simply be weeds, are in fact edible plants.
Along with the colorful illustrations, easy-to-relate narrative, and especially the illustrative drawings such as helpful foraging tools, the book helped give me a new perspective on the many plants which surround us and yet were edible.
One such example is the milkweed. Currently growing in my flowerbed for the butterflies, I hadn't realized until reading the book, it can double as also an edible source, though growing them to provide the butterflies and the caterpillars, a native plant to attract them, makes wanting to eat the plants. However, the author's helpful reminder dogbane can be confused with milkweed, is a helpful reminder of how disconnected in many ways, humans have become from nature. Whether one is a gardener or a hiker, "How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying" is both an entertaining, but also a helpful resource.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for approving my request to read an arc of this book

I enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading the information about what you can forage in the area you live in. I liked that the book went in depth with characteristics and lookalikes. I think the lookalikes are really important to mention so that readers can understand just how important it is to identify plants/fruits/roots while foraging.

The only thing that knocked down this rating was the mention of pokeweed. While some might not think it is a poisonous plant, a lot of forgers in the foraging community stay away from it as it is an easy plant for beginners to identify, but it is really not the safest plant to interact with. Pokeweed has a chemical that can be very harmful and irritating to your skin and can go into your bloodstream. I think it is really unsafe to mention pokeweed as a safe plant for beginners who don't know that they should use gloves and be very careful. The title of the book has the words "without dying" and while you might not die from pokeweed, it can cause headaches and stomach problems. This is not a safe plant for beginners and should not be suggested that it is okay.

Y'all, this book is awesome for beginners!! It has so much information that is put together in layman's terms that will make learning all about foraging easier than you'd think.

The author, in her introduction, notes that she chose some of the most common foods to harvest that have very few poisonous copy-cats. Pictures are side by side and she details the differences.

There is a section that helps you learn leaf parts so when you want to describe what you found, you have the jargon to ask the professional and answer their questions knowing what they mean with their questions.

Zachos also breaks down each plant and what parts are edible and how to use them in recipes, which she shares a few examples at the back of the book.

Overall, this a fabulous must have book for anyone interested in harvesting out and about on your hikes, or your backyard!

Thank you #NetGalley for #HowtoForageforWildFoodswithoutDying by #EllenZachos

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for approving my request to read an arc of this book

If you’re looking for a foraging book then this is the one to get. I’ve read lots and this one has taught me new things and better ways to safely identify. It’s so informative and easy to understand with helpful photos to go along with it.

I am such a garden girl, and I'm always looking for ways that I can add my native species into my cooking rituals and healing patterns, and this book is coming in great hand for me within my journey. I am so thankful to have received digital access and I look forward to publication day on October 10, 2023.