Encyclopedia of Plants, Fungi, and Lichens

Selected for the CBC’s 2022 July Hot Off The Press Reading List

"What a wonderful book for young plant lovers! The Encyclopedia of Plants, Fungi, and Lichens is a brightly illustration collection of tidbits about some well-loved plants, as well as some I've never heard of! Organized brilliantly by type of plant, fungi, and lichens, each section gives a short overview of the group with examples. A great buy for any young plant or nature enthusiast." ―Colleen L, Librarian

"Each text is filled with colorful, detailed illustrations that are filled with labels, and captions. The text is sparse, however it does the job and goes a long way toward explaining the key features or importance of each creature or the flora and fauna on each two page spread. Young botanists and ornithologists will enjoy exploring the pages and learning how to classify and identify a variety of common and unique plants and birds." ―Youth Services Book Review

"Great resource for all sorts of plants. Loved the illustrations and descriptions." ―Sydne C, Bookseller

"Do you have a child with a love for the outdoors? Do they ask you to identify every plant? Maybe they love foraging and want to learn about edible mushrooms and plants? Then this is the book for them. The beautiful illustrations are very eye-catching and helpful with identification without being too detailed where it may lose the child's attention. The information is on-point and delivered in a fun way that encourages the young reader to dive into different types of plants (from conifers and cacti to carnivorous and creeping plants), fungi (edible, inedible, and poisonous), and lichens." ―Britney W, Reviewer

"A fantastic resource for all sorts of plants, fungi, and lichens. that will help you identify trees, mushrooms, moss, and more in the wild! Perfect for young readers, this encyclopedia shares a short paragraph of information for each listed. Not too much, nor too little!" ―Stacy Renee C, Reviewer

"Author Nemcova and illustrator Pernicky team up to deliver a fascinating and educational compendium of flowering and non-flowering plants, fungi, and lichens. Each section features a short introduction to the types of plants that fall under that heading and each two-page spread offers readers full-color drawings of the highlighted plants. Helpful labels assist readers in identifying the plants and informative paragraphs along the tops and bottoms of the pages provide readers with unique facts about the various plants, fungi, and lichens in concise language that is not verbose or overly scientific, making this volume perfect for budding botanists. The oversized format is striking and engaging, and the inclusion of pages covering parasitic and carnivorous plants, as well as those on poisonous and inedible plants and fungi make this encyclopedia a standout from others in the genre. This volume is best suited as an overview of the subject matter and a jumping off point in beginning research skills." ―Children's Literature Review

"While the word encyclopedia in the title of this book might be slightly misleading, it certainly is an excellent introduction for youngsters to the wide subject of plants, fungi, and lichens. Each spread in this oversized book introduces a particular segment of plant life (there are twenty-two segments), such as Meadow Plants or Succulents & Cacti or Non-Flowering Plants or Poisonous Mushrooms. Most of each spread is covered by a wonderful rendering of nine representative plants. The writing is not formal, but actually quite friendly and welcoming to young readers, inviting them to get a taste of each segment before they go on to do more research on their own, which they are sure to want to do. This is a book that will be read over and over as youngsters learn more and more. It’s a winner." ―Portland Book Review

"Each spread features vibrant illustrations and descriptions of all of the plants and animals shown. These are the kinds of books I would have pored over as a child." ―The Blossoming Bibliophiles IG