The Wonder of Mushrooms - by Maya Jewell Zeller (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Get to know the kingdom of Fungi like never before with this unique book that blends mycology with lyrical prose and watercolor paintings. Take an extraordinary expedition into the diverse and enchanting realm of fungi. The Wonder of Mushrooms is where science meets poetry, where ancient wisdom converges with modern discovery. Maya Jewell Zeller and Jenny deFouw Geuder guide you into the hidden world beneath our feet. With a blend of scientific insight and artistic appreciation, the authors portray the crucial role of mushrooms in our ecosystem and celebrate their profound cultural significance"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Get to know the kingdom of Fungi like never before with this unique book that blends the science of mycology with lyrical prose and watercolor paintings.

Take an extraordinary expedition into the diverse and enchanting realm of fungi. The Wonder of Mushrooms is where science meets poetry, where ancient wisdom converges with modern discovery. Maya Jewell Zeller and Jenny deFouw Geuder guide you into the hidden world beneath our feet. With a blend of scientific insight and artistic appreciation, the authors portray the crucial role of mushrooms in our ecosystem and celebrate their profound cultural significance.

Learn about mushrooms' history and lore. Appreciate their myriad colors, shapes, and forms, as well as their vital role as nature's decomposers. Discover astonishing facts, such as how some bioluminescent species glow like fallen stars and where the extraordinary Humongous Fungus spans 2,385 acres. Perhaps most importantly, find out how fungi might prove to be humanity's unexpected saviors, offering solutions for everything from environmental pollution to sustainable architecture. Maya's lyrical prose pairs with Jenny's bright watercolors, creating an unparalleled ode to these foraging favorites that feels like both a scientific textbook and a beautiful gift book.

Whether you're an artist, naturalist, or someone who's simply curious about the natural world, this book presents a profound journey into the kingdom of Fungi, where beauty and science intertwine in unexpected ways.

Book Features:

• Lyrical prose that blends science with literary references and poetry


• Professional watercolors that help make complex scientific concepts accessible


• Wide range of topics, including anatomy, biology, and ecology


• Educational tribute that promotes wonder and curiosity

Review Quotes

"Beautiful, beguiling book... The Wonder of Mushrooms is an informative, charming introduction to the kingdom of fungi."

--Rebecca Foster, Foreword Reviews

About the Author

Maya Jewell Zeller is the author of the poetry collection Out Takes/Glove Box, as well as the interdisciplinary collaboration Alchemy for Cells & Other Beasts, and co-author of Advanced Poetry: A Writer's Guide and Anthology. When she's not teaching, Maya tromps around the Pacific Northwest forests and fields, floats the river on her paddle board, and embarks on various adventures with her two children.

Jenny deFouw Geuder is an artist and educator from Michigan. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in art education (and she minored in English). She has always loved nature and being outdoors. She especially loves gardening and hiking and, over time, began sketching the objects she discovered outside. She bought a bird feeder, and she was charmed by the many visitors. That one bird feeder grew to two, four, and now about eight--along with multiple bird baths! As she immersed herself in bird watching, she started fine-tuning her garden by introducing native plants that benefited birds and other wildlife.

By day, Jenny has taught art at the middle-school level for nearly 20 years. Each year, she includes an art lesson and project based on the famous prints of John James Audubon. Jenny emulated this work at home, and she began painting her backyard finds, everything from leaves and flowers to birds. This soon became one of her favorite pastimes. She loves observing, and she found herself constantly learning more about the subjects of her paintings. To record those discoveries, she started taking notes about her observations. That process led naturally to her debut book, Drawn to Birds. She has continued her own artistic interests in commissioned work and personal topics. She primarily works in watercolor, but she also enjoys oils, ceramics, and graphite.

Artists are professional observers, who tend to see things in a different way, by focusing on colors and shapes, textures or lines. But a person doesn't need to be a professionally trained artist to observe like one--or to make their own art. In fact, if her book projects have taught Jenny anything, it's that naturalists are a lot like artists in that they look more closely at the world and recognize all of the diversity that nature has to offer.

Jenny lives in the country with her husband, two boys, a dog, five cats, a hedgehog, chickens, and occasionally two ponies. She spends most of her summers at a rustic log cabin on a lake in northern Michigan, where she hikes, fishes, and enjoys the natural beauty of the area.