Non-fiction · ages 8–12

The Curator's Collection: An A to Z of Fungi

Name: The Curator's Collection: An A to Z of Fungi
Price: 8.99 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: Ester Gaya
ISBN: 9781835874745

Written by Ester Gaya · Illustrated by Katie Scott

Top giftableAdults love it tooEndlessly rereadable

A jewel-like alphabetical tour of the fungal kingdom from a Kew mycologist and illustrator Katie Scott, revealing the strange beauty of mushrooms, moulds and mycelia one gorgeous spread at a time.

Best for8–12
FormatNon-fiction
Length64 pp
Read aloud~54 min

Where to buyPaperback

WaterstonesIn stock

£8.99

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The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

Literary

Tone

Thought provoking
Whimsical
Gentle

Themes

On the pagefungi, mushrooms, nature, science, alphabet

Experience meters

Energy2/ 5

Humour1/ 5

Scariness1/ 5

Peril1/ 5

Wonder4/ 5

Cosiness3/ 5

Emotional intensity1/ 5

Conceptual intensity3/ 5

What’s it about?

The story.

From the team behind the acclaimed Fungarium comes a smaller, collectible A to Z of the fungal kingdom, made in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Mycologist Ester Gaya guides curious readers alphabetically through the curious, colourful and often mysterious world of fungi, from the familiar mushroom to the fantastical mould and the vast underground web of mycelia that connects whole forests. Katie Scott's precise, luminous illustrations give each entry the feel of a museum specimen drawer, pairing scientific accuracy with real artistic elegance. It is a book to pore over rather than race through: a design-led, fact-rich celebration of one of the most overlooked and extraordinary kingdoms of life on Earth. A handsome gift for nature lovers, budding scientists and anyone drawn to the beautiful and the strange.

Fit check

Right for your child?

Where it lands by age

Pitched at curious readers of about 8 to 12 who can handle real scientific vocabulary, though younger children of 6 or 7 will happily share the illustrations with an adult. The detail and design also make it a book adults return to.

Best fit · 8–12
Read aloud · 6–10
Independent · 8–12

Prose load

Moderate

Visual support

Very high

Reluctant-reader friendly

Workable

Read-aloud quality

Workable

Works well for

Gift-buying

Low sensitivityNo content warnings

Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.

Bedtime suitability

2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime

Sensitive-child

5 / 5 · Good fit

Graphic intensity

1 / 5 · None

Best for

Nature lovers
Budding scientists
Beautiful gift
Browsing

Avoid if

Wants a story
Reluctant with facts

Particularly good for children who are…

Interested in science

Why it lands

Why they love it.

Why kids love it

Every page is like opening a museum specimen drawer of impossibly beautiful, weird organisms. Curious readers who love facts and detail can pore over glow-in-imagination mushrooms, moulds and the vast underground web that links whole forests together.

Secret world

Why parents love it

A design-led reference made with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and illustrator Katie Scott, whose luminous artwork makes it a genuine keepsake. The science is accurate and the writing precise, so it reads as well to adults as to children.

Beautiful illustrations
Educational for adult too
Great writing

About the creators

About the creators.

Ester Gaya

Writer · United Kingdom

Ester Gaya is a Spanish mycologist and senior research leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who has spent two decades studying fungi and is especially drawn to lichens. She writes children's non-fiction that carries real scientific authority without losing its sense of wonder. With Kew colleagues she contributed to the acclaimed large-format Fungarium, and she is the guiding voice of The Curator's Collection: An A to Z of Fungi, illustrated by Katie Scott, a smaller, jewel-like alphabetical tour of the fungal kingdom from familiar mushrooms to the vast underground webs of mycelia. Made in collaboration with Kew, it is a design-led, fact-rich book to pore over rather than race through. Gaya's writing suits nature-loving, museum-minded readers who like their science beautiful and precise.

Katie Scott

Illustrator · United Kingdom

Katie Scott is a British illustrator based in London, celebrated for the intricate, luminous natural-history artwork that has made her one of the most distinctive voices in illustrated non-fiction. A University of Brighton graduate, she first drew notice for her artwork for the band Bombay Bicycle Club before becoming the illustrator behind the bestselling Welcome to the Museum series, whose gallery-in-a-book volumes — Animalium, Botanicum, Historium and more — turn each spread into a specimen drawer of precise, jewel-like drawings. That same museum sensibility runs through The Curator's Collection: An A to Z of Fungi, a collectible alphabetical tour of the fungal kingdom made with Kew mycologist Ester Gaya, in which her exact, elegant illustrations pair scientific accuracy with real artistic beauty. Scott makes design-led, fact-rich books to pore over rather than race through, ideal for nature lovers and budding scientists.