16th April The Day of the Mushroom

The Day of the Mushroom is an American celebration and it is celebrated on April 16th and honours all things fungi. The fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, which can grow anywhere above ground, on soil, or its food source, is known as a mushroom. International Mushroom Day occurs on October 15th.This day originated in Australia, where it is dedicated to mushroom farmers, hospitality businesses, and health professionals to celebrate all things associated with growing and eating these delicacies.

I'm writing about it today because so many beautiful informative books have been published recently which celebrate fungi and I can't wait until October to tell you about them.

My Year Two readers got very interested in fungi when learning about how trees communicate and help each other via fungi. Later when I read them Beatrix Potter Scientist  by Lindsay Metcalf we learned that Beatrix was an amateur mycologist researching mushrooms. Many of them wanted to read more and I realised how few books I could offer them. I had lots of budding mycologists it seemed! My search for books led to me purchasing:

Fungi Grow  by Maria Gianferrari & Diana Sudyka

Step into this book and discover the amazing array of mushrooms and see how they multiply. Learn how fungi heal and help humans. Explore the incredible underground fungal network that helps forests thrive.

Fungus is Among Us by Joy Keller & Erica Salcedo

You can run, but you can't hide...They're in the air you breathe. They're in the food you eat. They're on your body. Fungi are EVERYWHERE!

Humongous Fungus by Lynne Boddy & Wenjia Tang

Not quite animals and not quite plants, the mysterious kingdom of fungi is full of secret goings on.

Hello Fungi  by Nina Chakrabarti  

A fascinating world of fungi, including glow-in-dark fungi, the funky fungi that give off the strongest smell and the most colourful fungi.

These are not new but worthwhile:

 

The Mushroom Fan Club  by Elise Gravel

Combining her love of exploring nature with her talent for anthropomorphising everything, she takes us on a magical tour of the forest floor and examines a handful of her favourite alien specimens up close. 

We Are Fungi  by Christine Nishiyama

This genre-bending picture book tells dual stories side-by-side. A factually accurate story is told through words, while a more mysterious story is told through pictures, following the journey of a curious young girl as she ventures into the woods to hunt for mushrooms.

And two we don't have but I would like to see:

Funky Fungi  by Alisha Gabriel

They live in the coldest corner of Antarctica and on hot, sandy desert dunes. They’re in the air you breathe and the food you eat. But fungi are more than pizza toppings.

 Mushrooms Know  by Kallie George and Sara Gillingham

Fungi can teach us: that small can be mighty, being unique is a reason to celebrate — and staying connected is key.

If you'd like some stories that feature mushrooms, look for these:

• Two for Me, One for You by Jorg Muhle

• Mushroom Rain by Laura K. Zimmerman and 

• Mushroom Lullaby  by Kenneth Kraegel

• Super Happy Magic Forest: The Humongous Fungus by Matty Long

• A Better Best Friend  by Olivier Tallec

• Gustav is Missing by Andrea Zuill

15th October Mushroom Day

October 15th marks International Mushroom Day. Originating in Australia, Mushroom Day is particularly meant for mushroom farmers, restaurants, cafes and health professionals to enjoy and celebrate everything related to growing and eating mushrooms.

I have already written about mushrooms this year on April 14th The Day of the Mushroom, and there isn't much more to say other than to remind you that there are plenty of picture book sources in the library and lots of ideas for what to do with them here.

28th July Beatrix Potter Day

The 28th July 1866 was Beatrix Potter's birthday so on the 28th July it is a day to celebrate her contribution to literature, art and science. 

Many of the children I teach know of Beatrix Potter because of her character Peter Rabbit,  and most of them know of him because of movies and modern interpretations of her books that are not illustrated by Beatrix. When I show my students what the books looked like when they were first published they make comments such as 'they are so small'; 'there is so much white'; 'they're so cute'. Then when we look at the copyright page of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and see that it was first published in 1901, and then they work out how long ago that was they are very quiet. 'Is it the oldest book in the library?'

To celebrate Beatrix Potter's birthday I often get out the old books, whatever new versions and spin-offs we have and collect together some picture book biographies to make a display. Then I add some toys. The library has Peter, Jemima and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle.

Newer biographies:

Beatrix and Her Bunnies (2021) by Rebecca Colby & Caroline Bonne-Muller

Beatrix loves the countryside, but lives in a big, lonely house in London - if only she had a friend. Then she meets Benjamin Bunny and everything changes! 

Rebecca Colby effortlessly entwines the fascinating threads of Beatrix Potter's life: her deep connection with animals, her development as a writer and artist, her determination to be published and her role as a pioneering conservationist. 

Beatrix Potter, Scientist (2020) by Lindsay H. Metcalf & Junyi Wu

Everyone knows Beatrix Potter as the creator of the Peter Rabbit stories. But before that, she was a girl of science. As a child, Beatrix collected nature specimens; as a young adult, she was an amateur mycologist presenting her research on mushrooms and other fungi to England's foremost experts. Like many women of her time, she remained unacknowledged by the scientific community.

Saving the Countryside (2020) by Lindsay Marshall & Ilaria Urbinati

Growing up in London, Beatrix Potter felt the restraints of Victorian times. Girls didn't go to school and weren't expected to work. But she longed to do something important, something that truly mattered. As Beatrix spent her summers in the country and found inspiration in nature, it was through this passion that her creativity flourished. 

There, she crafted The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She would eventually move to the countryside full-time, but developers sought to change the land. To save it, Beatrix used the money from the success of her books and bought acres and acres of land and farms to prevent the development of the countryside that both she and Peter Rabbit so cherished. Because of her efforts, it's been preserved just as she left it.

There are some older biographies too:

4th January the International Year of the Woman Farmer

Women play essential roles across agrifood systems, producing, processing and trading food that sustains families, communities and economies. Yet their contributions often go unrecognised, and persistent inequalities limit their access to resources, opportunities and decision making.  

The International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026) highlights these realities, calls for collective action and increased investments to close gender gaps, strengthen women’s livelihoods and promote their leadership across agrifood value chains. By advancing gender equality and creating conditions for women and girls engaged along agrifood value chains to thrive, the Year contributes to building fairer, more inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems for all. 

Women farmers are all women working in agrifood systems in different capacities across all segments of value chains. This includes farmers, producers, peasants, family and smallholder farmers, seasonal laborers, fishers, fish workers, beekeepers, pastoralists, foresters, processors, traders, traditional knowledge holders, women in agricultural sciences, formal and informal workers, and rural entrepreneurs. They encompass women in all their diversity, including young and older women, Indigenous women and women in local communities, women with disabilities, refugee and displaced women, and others.

Females are also underrepresented in picture books about farming! I have found some, but the meaningful ones are for children over 8 years, like the one above, Farming is Female by Rachel Sarah which was published in November 2025. Through interviews with more than twenty women farmers, climate journalist,  Rachel Sarah shares how modern farmers are changing the way we think about food production. Their stories include the struggles of undocumented workers, the shortage of fresh produce in low-income neighbourhoods, and the food justice advocates who are feeding communities. Hopefully the book will get cheaper in line with Sarah's other titles.

In Australia a lot of children grow up on a farm. The Farm  by Alison Lester grew up on a farm by the sea in eastern Victoria. My Farm is her story of a memorable year, the year she got a palomino pony for Christmas. Trick-riding horses, mustering cattle, training the dog, competing at the local show, feeding calves, picking mushrooms, raising a baby wombat, building cubbies, cutting hay, swimming ponies in the dam, hypnotising chooks ... all the activities through the seasons are depicted with child-like mischief and humour.

This book, Cattle Muster  by Dianne Wolfer and Frank Lessac depicts an outback family who are all involved on the farm.

Mum’s in the ute.
Charlie’s in the chopper.
Dad leads the jackaroos.
Sis rides canters on the wing.
Everyone has a job, everyone except me. 

But whose job will it be to save the day?

After these, most of the farm books I could find either have a male main character, are generic or give a lighter-weight view of farming.

• I Want to be a Farmer  by Dan Liebman features both females and males.

• Before We Eat from farm to table  by Pat Brisson and Mary Azarian shows readers that before we eat, many people work very hard-planting grain, catching fish, tending animals, filling crates, and stocking shelves and some of these are female.

• The Farm That Feeds Us  by Nancy Castaldo and Ginny Hsu follows a farm throughout the year to discover how the farmer grows fresh and tasty food for us to eat in a sustainable and natural way. Explores the workings of a small-scale, organic family farm.

•  Food for the Future  by Mia Wenjen and Robert Sae-Heng  

From urban gardens to farms under the sea, discover the many different sustainable ways people have been growing food for centuries, and new innovations that are battling the effects of climate change on farming. Rhyming text and inset boxes with definitions for new vocabulary words make the topic accessible to young learners. End matter includes detailed information about each country's farming practice, sustainable farming and more.

• Miss MacDonald Had a Farm  by Kale Gwarjanski and Elizabet Vukovic

Join Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and see all the work that goes into growing healthy and delicious produce.

• Amara's Farm by JaNay Brown-Wood and Samara Hardy

Amara searches for pumpkins on her farm in this vibrant exploration of gardening and healthy eating.

• The Real Cowgirl  by Isabelle Duff and Susannah Crispe

Sal feels safe and strong at home, and out riding with her pony. Sal’s life on the farm will delight young readers with an interest in animals and adventure.

The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham

The Concrete Garden,  an uplifting story about hope and the power of creative expression by Bob Graham has been shortlisted for the Early Childhood Book of the Year! What a gem of a book with so much to offer teachers and students during the lead up to Book Week. At my school we plan to use this book as a focus for reading and creativity while exploring themes of community, resilience and the power of a vivid imagination. Hopefully, every class will make their own chalk garden and we then can have an 'expo' where classes get to visit other classes' gardens.

Amanda comes out of the unit block with a box of chalk and together with other children, on every inch of the pavement outside, they draw pictures of flowers and trees, mushrooms and snails, and a few very unexpected things. It’s a concrete garden. Their creativity, unfettered in the open air, brings something beautiful, something hopeful, to the residents there.

The concept of drawing with chalk on concrete is not a new one. There are other picture books that explore the wonder of chalk drawings, where some even have a piece of chalk that is able to do magic.

The Magic Chalk  by Norwegian author, Zinken Hope was first published in 1949.

A boy named Jon finds a piece of chalk, dropped by a witch, and uses it to draw a stick man on a fence, not knowing that it is magic. The stick man becomes alive and says his name is Sofus. Jon draws a door and together they enter a garden full of talking animals, some of whom they help out using the magic chalk. 

The newer versions of this idea, though are so much better.

  

The Chalk Garden  by Sally Anne Garland

What can you create with a little chalk and a big idea? As Emma uses her imagination to draw a beautiful flower garden with sidewalk chalk, a tiny ecosystem develops outside her door, with real-life flowers that bud and bloom!

Chalk  by Bill Thomson

A rainy day. Three kids in a park. A dinosaur spring rider. A bag of chalk. The kids begin to draw...and then...magic! The children draw the sun, butterflies, and a dinosaur that amazingly come to life. Children will never feel the same about the playground after they experience this astounding wordless picture book and the power of the imagination.

Chalk Boy  by Margaret Wild and Mandy Ord

This book was shortlisted for  CBCA Picture Book of the Year, 2019

Barnaby is a pavement artist. This morning he started drawing me. I have a head that can think, eyes that can see, ears that can hear and legs that can run. Best of all, I have a heart that can feel. Thank you, Barnaby. 

Chalk Eagle  by Nazli Tahvili

A young boy living in the heart of a busy city spots an eagle swooping overhead, and dreams of what it would be like to fly away from the noise and to soar over mountains and rivers. Using a little chalk he draws his own eagle - and then himself - into existence. The two fly away together, and embark on a wonderful adventure of the boy's own imagination.

The Case of the Red-Bottomed Robber!  by Richard Byrne

The young chalks are busy at the chalkboard but someone keeps stealing their drawings . . .Mrs Red calls Sergeant Blue to investigate but when the culprit is caught, he absconds in a cloud of chalk dust. The chalks find another way to lure the suspect into their hands and it is only then that they discover they've misjudged the poor chalk rubber all along . . .

The Boy, the Troll and the Chalk by Anne Booth and David Litchfield

Only one child cannot turn their back on the troll at the edge of the playground. One day, he takes his chalks up to the mouth of the cave. He draws a flower with every petal coloured in but one, and leaves the chalk behind. The next day, the flower has been completed. Day-by-day, the boy and the troll finish each other's drawings, until they each draw a portrait, showing a boy holding hands with a fierce, scary troll. "But you're not a troll," says the boy. "You're a boy - just like me."

How to by Julie Morstad

This imaginative 'how to' book explores whimsical ways of doing a host of different tasks, including 'how to wonder', 'how to see the breeze' and 'how to be brave'. It is not only about chalk, but an entree to other imaginations as well.

A Piece of Chalk  by Jennifer A. Ericsson and Michelle Shapiro

A world of possibilities in an ordinary box of chalk... What would you do with a brand new box of chalk, and a whole driveway as your chalkboard? What would you draw? This little girl draws a red brick wall for starters, then a yellow sun, a brown bird and more. ..

If you are looking for  ideas of what to do on concrete with chalk here are some good ones, and a whole Pinterest here.

Your library might also have this: