For Riot Brother fans…
In Stinky and Successful: The Riot Brothers Never Stop , Lydia Riot makes Wilbur and Orville a dutch baby for breakfast. “What’s a dutch baby?” you ask. Watch the video to find out.
A librarian from Bensonville (IL) Community Public Library booktalks The Naked Mole-Rat Letters.
If you are a teacher or librarian and would like higher resolution images to enlarge for your classroom or library, you can download these images.
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Bookmarks for you to download. Print on cardstock, cut, and share.
When it comes to writing, some kids have a hard time getting started. In this article (first published in the Arizona Reading Association Journal), you can read my suggestions.
After writing Invisible Lines, I became enchanted with mushrooms. My friends began to send me images of mushrooms. Here’s a mushroom craft idea. Software developer and game designer Zach Barth, in Bellevue, WA, realized that screws resemble mushrooms and created this whimsical sculpture.
First find some large screws and paint them however you like. Although it may scratch off, Barth suggests using standard, hobby-grade acrylic paint. Next, find a fallen tree branch, thick enough to hold the “mushrooms” you’ve made. If the branch is too long, you can use it as an opportunity to give an impromptu and safe lesson on woodworking. Ask very young children to “work” alongside you with their pretend tools, but if your kids are old enough, you may want to teach them how to use real tools safely. Saw off the ends to make your branch the size you want. Then, drill a hole for each “mushroom.” You can still buy simple, hand-held manual drills, which are great for projects with kids. When my kids were young, I’d have them put their hands on top of mine, so that they could “help.” –Mary Amato
In Invisible Lines, Trevor Musgrove makes a spore print. If you’d like to try it, read on.
Mushrooms release spores, which are tiny, round, reproductive bodies, which you can literally “capture” in a print. Take a mushroom and gently remove the stem—you don’t want to damage the mushroom, but you do want to make sure the thin veil of flesh covering the gills is open so that the gills are exposed. Put the mushroom gill-side down on a piece of paper and cover with a glass. Wait 24 hours, lift off the glass, and carefully pick up the mushroom. You should see the spores released in a pattern.
Spore Print from MAW Fair
If the spores are white, you won’t see them on white paper and should try placing a new mushroom on a piece of black paper. Some people make spore prints on half black/half white paper to cover either possibility.
Grocery store mushrooms do not work well because they aren’t fresh. Your best bet is to pick a mushroom in the wild, one in which the veil has already begun to open or has opened. You should wash your hands after handling the mushroom, but don’t worry about toxicity exposure…mushrooms that are poisonous to eat are okay to handle with appropriate caution.
If you want to keep your print, make sure to spray it with fixative.
Some people are allergic to mushroom spores, so be appropriately cautious and don’t sniff the spores. –Mary Amato
Hidden Superfood: Some people believe that mushrooms have little nutritional value. Wrong. Mushrooms are good for you. They contain protein, fiber, essential amino acids, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, ascorbic acid and Vitamin D. Mushrooms produce strong antioxidants, antibiotics, and antiviral compounds. Scientists are studying their medicinal compounds to cure cancers and small pox, to treat diabetes, obesity, immune disorders and more. See Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets.
Cook Before Eating: Make sure you thoroughly cook your mushrooms. White button mushrooms are commonly eaten raw in salads, but many mushrooms will cause digestive problems if eaten raw.
Mushroom Hunting:
Once you start looking for mushrooms, you will start to see them growing on trees, near trees, under leaves, near creeks, in median strips, on your front lawn, and even in the big city. Different mushrooms pop up at different times of the year. Especially after a good soak. Poisonous species can look remarkably similar to edible types, so don’t eat anything unless you are foraging with a mycologist. Join your local mycological association toHidden Superfood: Some people believe that mushrooms have little nutritional value. Wrong. Mushrooms are good for you. They contain protein, fiber, essential amino acids, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, ascorbic acid and Vitamin D. Mushrooms produce strong antioxidants, antibiotics, and antiviral compounds. Scientists are studying their medicinal compounds to cure cancers and small pox, to treat diabetes, obesity, immune disorders and more. See Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets.
Cook Before Eating: Make sure you thoroughly cook your mushrooms. White button mushrooms are commonly eaten raw in salads, but many mushrooms will cause digestive problems if eaten raw.
Mushroom Hunting:
Once you start looking for mushrooms, you will start to see them growing on trees, near trees, under leaves, near creeks, in median strips, on your front lawn, and even in the big city. Different mushrooms pop up at different times of the year. Especially after a good soak. Poisonous species can look remarkably similar to edible types, so don’t eat anything unless you are foraging with a mycologist. Join your local mycological association to find experts who can teach you how to identify mushrooms.
find experts who can teach you how to identify mushrooms.
In my book, Invisible Lines, Trevor’s science class goes outside for a mushroom “foray.” Looking for mushrooms is kind of like going on a natural treasure hunt. You don’t have to be in the wild. Mushrooms grow everywhere, even in New York City!
Photo by Jim Kuhn
Mushroom Hunting:
Once you start looking for mushrooms, you will start to see them growing on trees, near trees, under leaves, near creeks, in median strips, on your front lawn, etc. Different mushrooms pop up at different times of the year. Especially after a good soak.
Photo by Ivan Amato
Looking over some mushroom identification guidebooks can be a great way to familiarize yourself with what might be out there.
Poisonous species can look remarkably similar to edible types, so don’t eat anything unless you are foraging with a mycologist. Join your local mycological association to find experts who can teach you how to identify mushrooms.–Mary Amato