Book Review: IF I WERE A FUNGUS by Gaia Stella

What’s a fungus? Where are they found? What do they do? This cute picture book answers those questions for science-loving and science-curious kids.

Gaia Stella’s IF I WERE A FUNGUS offers a cute and imaginative exploration of the world of fungi.

Stella’s approach to introducing young readers to fungi is playful and informative. Through colorful illustrations, she invites readers on a whimsical journey to discover the diverse habitats and characteristics of these fascinating organisms. While the book maintains a light and playful tone throughout, sparking curiosity, Stella includes pages of scientific facts at the end of the book, encouraging further exploration.

The story has some subtle head-hopping, and the bedtime scene could scare some kids. But despite these shortcomings, Stella’s playful storytelling and cute illustrations make this book a delightful read for young readers curious about the wonders of nature.

The illustrations in IF I WERE A FUNGUS are a highlight of the book, bursting with vibrant colors and simplistic designs that put the “fun” in fungus! I especially enjoyed the scientific pages at the end of the book, in which a drawing of the main character, Leo, is shown in a side-by-side comparison of a drawing of a fungus. From whimsical depictions of fungal habitats to charmingly illustrated mushroom characters, the artwork enhances the narrative and tickles the funny bone.

By presenting fungi as versatile and resilient organisms found in a variety of environments, Stella instills a sense of wonder and appreciation for the natural world.

In conclusion, IF I WERE A FUNGUS by Gaia Stella is a charming and educational book that serves as a colorful introduction to this fascinating subject.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

Thank you #NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group | Millbrook Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
#IfIWereaFungus #IfIWereAFungus #ChildrensFiction #KidLit #Nature

Thanks to Netgalley and Lerner Publishing for the ARC of this!

What a cute and informative picture book about different types of fungi. It did a good job explaining how fungi live and function.

Love this narrative non-fiction dive into fungi! A fun initial telling to understand the science of this non plant. Full of fun retro colors.

Beautiful illustrations and very informative. I have been reading a lot of mushroom books for kids lately, and this is definitely one of my favorites based on the amount of detail and fun facts were a lot more easily digestible than others I have seen. Will definitely purchase this for my library's collection!

I was hoping this would provide more information throughout the book. It was essentially a story of all the fun a fungus would have because it can go everywhere, with minimal facts sprinkled. I wasn't expecting a deep dive into fungus, but this barely scratched the surface and wouldn't fill the gap in our library's collection. The illustrations were simple and pleasing to the eye, they didn't distract for the bit of text provided.

Why did I choose this book for my children? Cause it's filled with fun guys! Ah, sorry, couldn't resist. On a more serious note, I choose this book because my 6 year old informed me she is tired of stories and wants lessons... yeah she's a bit crazy, but hey, girl wants to learn some facts, here's a book about fungus, why not? And, I am SO happy I did! Not only did my 6 year old love finding a book that is fun, witty, and educational, but my 10 year old joined in and found the whole book fascinating. Not only did we all learn new fungi facts, but my children also went on to share these new cool facts with their dad and older brother afterwards. The illustrations are wonderfully done and made in a way to pulls kids in. The writing style is both storytelling, while also being super informative, which I find is a huge struggle for books within my children's age groups. Typically, a book is either all story with little to no information to take away out side of a moral or they are jammed packed with information with no story to guide children through... or even worse a story is half concocted and drug along just as a filler. This book was none of those things. It was educational in a fun and exciting way that made my children want to read and learn more. Very well done. I will be revisiting this author in the future because this style is exactly what my household looks for. 10/5 stars because truly I cannot remember the last time one, let alone, multiple of my children have clung to a book and then boosted about what they learned afterwards.

Here's one for the curious kiddos in your life: "If I Were a Fungus" imagines, well, life as a fungus, with the ability to eat without chewing and to be in multiple places (and at multiple birthday parties!) at once. Spare but full-page illustrations bring a further hint of whimsy to the whole thing, and a fact section at the end brings in some more hard-and-fast information.

This one will definitely be a lot of fun for both curious and imaginative kids—pretty much demands that you ask the follow-up question, "If you were a fungus, where would *you* go?"! You should probably expect to be answering some follow-up questions of your own, too, which seems like a pretty good outcome for a picture book. An excellent fit for a kindergarten classroom library, an outdoorsy kid, or a future scientist.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

A good book to help your child learn about fungi. We used it today to supplement our homeschool science lesson.
My boys always seem to be more interested when it’s a colorful book like this one which matches learning with a cute story!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If I Were a Fungus is fungi's biography, but as a picture book! The illustrations are fun and colorful, and really drive home different facts about fungi. I think this is a fun educational tool for young children, although it walks the line between too technical and not technical enough at times. The beauty of this book though is that you can use the text more as guidelines for how to tell the "story" of a fungus and tailor it to the child. Overall, this is an enjoyable book with great pictures and creative descriptions!

Colorful and detailed and fun illustrations! My kids and I had a great time reading along and talking about all the different illustrations. Fun picture book and a good conversation started to talk to kids about Fugus! Haha!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group, Millbrook Press, and author Gaia Stella for providing me the opportunity to review "If I Were a Fungus” prior publication. I am appreciative and leave my review voluntarily.

The best word for this book is interesting. The story is hard to describe. It’s basically where a fungus would be or how would it look in various types of environments, locations, or places. When I read this book, it makes me think of Fungus horrors like "The Last of Us", where a fungus takes over the world and destroys all humanity. It’s not the purpose of this book, but it’s what comes to mine. I found the info at the back of the book way more interesting and entertaining than the main body and story of the book. The illustrations are simplistic and child like which will have kids grabbing for it. But I’m not sure this is one that would be read over and over again.

Love these illustrations (sometimes simple is so moving!). I like the easy to understand nonfiction text. As an adult, I do feel a tiny bit grossed out that all this fungus is around us. :/

With simple illustrations kids learn unique facts about fungi; their habitat, growth, and nutrition. The end of the book has a glossary and a bibliography and would serve as a good introduction to the topic.

This story was a fun and educational story about fungus. The pictures were clear and colorful, adding to the story and helping to share tidbits and knowledge. My youngest and I read it together and were giggling together over scenarios. Later on, that day, she was overheard sharing facts with her sister and her father. We went out into the woods after reading the book and were able to point out some of the varieties that we remembered from the book as well! Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

There are so many things to learn about fungus. This picture book for young children teaches them about fungus in a fun way that follows a fungus throughout the book as it does various things; grows, eats, hides, etc. The book makes it clear how interesting fungi are by making the fungus the main character in the book. The book also includes some scientific facts at the end of the book and explains how fungus may be used to help our planet clean up the damage that has been done by humans--such as by killing germs, cleaning the oceans, and eating plastics. The fungus could be humans new best friend and this book makes him an adorable character for children to learn about.

This is such a cute book for kids. It’s super simple and cute. I think kids will love it. The art is cute and fun as well. It looks like a kid drew it and that’s part of what makes it so cute for kids. It looks like something they could’ve drawn for their parents to put together as a book. There are a lot more facts at the end of the book, which I wish were incorporated into the story. The fungi facts could’ve been built into the story with drawings to go with each fact that’s presented. Instead, the facts felt random and out of place at the end. Otherwise, it’s cute and I don’t think that kids will mind that the facts at the end aren’t built into the story.

This was a different book- comparing kids to different forms of fungi
The hidden mushroom shape on each page could be a fun thing for kids to look for while reading. The illustrations are bright and simple which makes it very pleasing for young readers.

Cute book! This book touches on the complexities of fungi that we don't usually dive into when thinking about what exactly fungi is/isn't.

"If I Were a Fungus" is a great informational book about fungi. The illustrations were really charming, and the text was engaging and fun. I think this would be a great readaloud, and I plan to use it with some of my classes when it comes out.

Who doesn't love fungus?

A blend of science education, colorful illustrations, and a boy imagining what it would be like to be a fungus. I feel that parts of this story worked better than others. The beginning of the book was cute and easy to follow and when some mushroom science came in I was excited for the ride. However, the way the illustrations were done and the way certain facts about fungus were portrayed didn't always quite hit the mark. I'd be interested to see how many of these facts would actually stick with kids.

Despite this, it's a cute story and I wholeheartedly support teaching kids about fungus!! Not to mention,
the little mushroom is absolutely adorable!