I've been here, I've been there - lately I feel like a pup always on the move! Sneak-up surprise visits to see Jacob and fantastic times trotting around the library's grounds have kept me busy. But do you know the best adventure I've had lately? I went on a Mushroom Hunt with Rachel in the Wilds of Slater Park!
Imagine this: A forest setting with dusty leaves underpaw. There are gritty bits of branches painted with dew. Our canine explorer's nose snuffles across the morning-lit grass. See how wolfish his smile is? His tail waves, and his ears perk up to listen to the woods. With his faithful human by his side, he pads forward to seek...MUSHROOMS.
Unfortunately, Rachel never told me what a "mushroom" was (Allison calls something called oatmeal "mush," so I thought a mushroom might be a room filled with oatmeal), so I was looking in the wrong places...
After a few false sniffs up trees, Rachel finally thought to tell me what a mushroom is. I wiggled my bum and sat back to listen to her explanation.
"A mushroom is something called a fungus," she said. "It looks kind of like a little puffy umbrella, and it grows in dark, damp spots and eats dead things."
Woof-roo? Why would anyone want something like that?
Rachel continued, "There are lots of different colors and sizes of mushrooms; some are poisonous and some you can eat. I just want a few for an art project."
Ah. Now that I understood. Thinking back to my humans' strange habits of crushing veggies and fruits and leaves for other painting projects, this didn't surprise me. After a quick stretch, we were off again. At last we found clumps of mushrooms (which - upon sniffing- I decided NOT to eat), and our quest was done!
Rachel and I look at the mushrooms we found in the woods.
She's using the tops to make pretty designs on paper. Humans are strange.
When I had settled back onto one of my favorite napping spots in Allison's room, Allison pulled out a book. Smiling, she told me that she was happy that I had been such a brave, smart adventurer. The following book tells the story of three adventurous pigs (one of whom travels especially far) and their own mushroom hunt.
In Holly Hobbie's Toot and Puddle: Wish You Were Here, Toot sets off for "Wildest Borneo," leaving his best friend Puddle and her cousin Opal at home in Woodcock Pocket. Much of the story allows readers to see both Toot's adventures in Borneo (through his postcards home) and Opal and Puddle's happy spring in Woodcock Pocket (through the narration). Toot discovers new plants; Puddle and Opal plant marigolds. Three very close friends with very different interests! Aroo!
Human-pups will gasp at what happens next! Toot comes home sick and the only remedy is a smelly mushroom tea. And these mushrooms may just be hidden somewhere in Woodcock Pocket...
I give this book two paws up and a tail wag. The book's wonderful message is that adventures are available even in your own backyard - and that friends may be very close even if they are like very different things. Be yourself! And always be open to adventure! Aroooooo! The illustrations too are funny and imaginative (especially the postcards from Toot), the characters' faces showing just what they are feeling. Recommended for human-pups Pre-K-3.
Allison and I would also like to recommend the other Toot and Puddle books!
Oh dear. My family has just discovered that I had a nibble on Suz's rocking chair. I think I'm in trouble...have to go try the puppy eyes and woof a quick "sorry."
Yours in feisty adventures and silly mushrooms,
Sam I Am
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