Spring 2024

If I Were a Fungus

  • Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 3
  • Reading Level: Grade 2

If Leo were a fungus, he wouldn’t be an animal—or a plant. He would live in the mountains but also in the city. He would live in lakes, in the desert, and on cheese!

Fungi are found around the globe, yet we know very little about them. Scientists even have a hard time defining what they are because they’re so contradictory. In If I Were a Fungus, author and illustrator Gaia Stella presents a colorful and offbeat introduction to a most unusual life-form!



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979-8-7656-2713-6
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Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 2
Genre Picture Books
Copyright 2024
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Millbrook Press ™
Language English
Number of Pages 40
Publication Date 2024-03-05
Text Type Informational Fiction
BISACS JUV029040, JUV029010
Dewey 579.5
Dimensions 8 x 10
Guided Reading Level M
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Original artwork, and Reviewed

Author, Illustrator: Gaia Stella

Gaia Stella is an award-winning illustrator and author. She has authored and illustrated picture books and novelty books for Italian and international publishers, including hélium, La Joie de Lire, De La Martinière Jeunesse, Mondadori, Einaudi. She’s done editorial illustrations for clients such as the New York Times, Vogue Bambini, and the Boston Globe. Gaia’s colorful and geometric imagery is inspired by a variety of (sometimes unexpected) sources: architecture by Mies Van De Rohe, a chair designed by Gio Ponti, photos by René Maltête, illustrations by Vladimir Lebedev, short stories by Gianni Rodari, and the packaging of Asian food. She lives and works in Milan, Italy.

If I Were a Fungus: An Interview with Author and Illustrator Gaia Stella

Fungus is everywhere: cities, mountains, on food, and in deserts. Fungi are found around the globe, yet we know very little about them. Scientists even have a hard time defining what they are because they’re so contradictory. If I Were a Fungus by Gaia Stella is a playful and informative View →

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Reviews

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)

“While some kids might get creeped out by the idea that ’there’s always a fungus among us,’ most will find the funky fungi to be a pretty fun guy. The backmatter is fantastic. Its annotated sketches of a fungus and Leo are a cheerful, kind-friendly balance of science vocabulary, fun facts, and humor. Reviewer Rating: 5”—Children’s Literature

Publishers Weekly

“The phenomenal capabilities of fungi star in this lightly informative and humorous profile. . . In bold-hued digital and marker art, geometric shapes lend Stella’s spreads a blocky, elementary vibe that suits the kid-centric text.”—Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

“[U]seful as an introduction to a little-known or understood subject.”—School Library Journal