THE LONELY TOADSTOOL

A solitary toadstool finds support in unexpected places in this whimsical debut picture book.

When a toadstool realizes how alone he feels, he cries, and the sound carries into the nearby forest. His woodland neighbors—animal and fairy alike—rush to find the source of the sorrow: “They put down their nuts and seeds, / Stopped nibbling their grass and clover, / Retired their hammers deep in the earth, / And the spinning of orbs was over.” Although the neighbors listen and offer support, the toadstool’s still sad. But as he’s surrounded by love, he’s able to let his despair—in the form of spores—float away; soon, many other small toadstools surround him. With his new friends, he’s able to leave his loneliness behind. The message about getting community help is strong, and Culpepper’s fantastical setting lends itself well to its exploration. The spore-release aspect doesn’t quite work, and the fact that the resulting toadstools are essentially his children goes unmentioned. The rhymes generally scan well, but uncommon words (plight, comradery) make this best suited for reading aloud. Arthur’s pen-and-watercolor illustrations emphasize the fairy-tale feel, but some images render depth better than others, and occasional images don’t match the action of the text, such as the fairy hearing the toadstool’s call.

A meditation on speaking one’s needs with a good message but uneven presentation.