Juliene McCormick
What's Their Kingdom? is a narrative non-fiction book about mushrooms. Interactively the author encourages and engages the reader in learning about mushrooms and their fungi kingdom. What's Their Kingdom? guides children to discover fascinating facts and characteristics of the fungi kingdom - specifically, how mushrooms grow, how they live and how they multiply. Little 'Funguys' help teach the concepts unique to this kingdom. They and the author dialogue, showing comparisons of the fungi kingdom with plant and animal kingdoms (The author addresses the reader as Mammal Reader!). It is revealed that although they share some similar traits, scientists identify the fungi kingdom as its own classification of living things. The author and the illustrator demonstrate through drawings and photographs, the beauty and diversity of fungi in color, shape and size. Juliene shares her own experiences of discovering fungi in nature and journaling those experiences. The 'Mammal Reader' is encouraged to head out of doors and go on mushroom hunts, She describes when it's best to find them, and reminds the reader that they can be visible at parks, in forests, or even in their own back yards. Children are clearly warned NEVER to eat a wild mushrooms (this warning being similar to teaching the danger of the plant kingdom's poson ivy). Detailed directions are given for conducting a science experiment...it's purpose being to observe fungi spores and compare the spores of different kinds of mushrooms...then jorunalling those findings. (This actually would make for a great science fair project!) Other activities are integrated into What's Their Kingdom?. A catchy, rap jingle to sing, 'Little Fungi Friend O' Mine'; a 'How to Draw Your Own Funguy' page; a page for coloring, showing children on a mushroom hunt. What's Their Kingdom? promotes both a broadening curiosity of nautre in general, and an increase in knowledge specific to mushrooms and the fungi kingdom. 3
