The Not-So-Lonely Tree

An ancient tree is lonely and isolated deep in a forest. As time goes on it comes to find it is not so lonely after all surrounded by a whole hidden kingdom of fungal friends. This book wraps complex scientific concepts into a simple watercolor-illustrated story for kids. The tale is meant to evoke a child's curiosity and wonder about fungi by introducing different characters on a guest list to their gathering. Backmatter includes a simple chart showing examples of a few major characters from the story and estimated time scales of their lineages to put into perspective how closely related they are to each other.