Myko – Wissenswertes aus der Welt der Pilze

Myko (in German) is a nonfiction book told by the fungi themselves. It comes as ten issues of a fictional magazine, edited by editor-in-chief Fungus X. Imperfectus, reporting on history, ecology, sport and culture from the point of view of a kingdom that has lived on Earth far longer than we have.

You meet Aunt Klothilde, who made Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin possible, the slime mould that drew Tokyo's transit network in 25 hours, and the town mushroom that pushes up asphalt. There are interviews, reports, myths, poems and ten experiments you can actually try at home, with humour as dry as a well-kept porcini.

Daniela Olejníková's detailed illustrations are printed in fourteen special colours, and the book glows under black light, just like some fungi do at night. Every copy comes with a fold-out poster.

The original edition was published by the Czech publisher Baobab. Winner of the BolognaRagazzi Award 2024 (Non-Fiction). Written by Jiří Dvořák, translated from Czech by Mirko Kraetsch, with expert editing by mycologist Prof. Dr. Meike Piepenbring. The German edition is published together with Raum für Illustration in Hamburg and was printed at Protisk in the Czech Republic.
For readers aged 8 and up, and for everyone who wants to know what is going on under their feet.