Sometimes stories are told so often that people begin believing them even though they are not true. If enough people believe these untrue stories, they are called myths. Do you know what’s true or not? Do porcupines really throw their quills? Can someone be as blind as a bat? Are snakes slimy or do opossums hang by their tails? And just how much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Learn what’s true and what’s not in the latest addition to Mary Holland’s Animal Anatomy and Adaptation series.
Can you imagine swooping through the air like Hatzegopteryx, a giant of the ancient skies? Hatzegopteryx (hatz-eh-GOP-ter-iks) was one of the largest pterosaurs that ever lived; about the size of a small airplane. I am Hatzegopteryx, the second book in Arbordale Publishing’s I am Prehistoric series, gives children a glimpse into the life of the awesome Hatzegopteryx, from tiny chick to majestic winged predator, and how it made its living. Unlike many pterosaurs, this one was a terrestrial carnivore, spending its time hunting prey on land. Just like today’s animals, prehistoric creatures had adaptations and behaviors that helped them survive in their habitat—a environment that was in some ways quite different from what we see around us today.
Dog detectives? Thanks to superior sniffers, some pups learn to help scientists investigate and track endangered animals. The snoopers’ clue? Poop. Dogs that are part of wildlife detective teams are trained to catch the scent of wild animal poop (scat) so that scientists can learn about these animals without luring or trapping them. Like many pooper snoopers, Sampson, the dog in this book, was once a shelter dog, too hyper and ball crazy for families. That energy and ball drive is what makes him such a good dog detective. He is trained on many species, from salamanders to bears, but his goal is always the same. Find the scat and get the ball!
Big brothers are amazing! Did you know that big brothers are important in animal families, too? Animal big brothers do many of the same things as kid big brothers. They play with their younger siblings, teach them new things, and help with their care. Sometimes animal big brothers even babysit when their parents leave to hunt for food. Are you a big brother or do you have a big brother?
¿Te gustan las búsquedas del tesoro? ¿Cómo sabes si el agua de un arroyo está limpia y saludable? Acompaña a Lucas y a su hermana mientras hacen de científicos en búsqueda de ciertos tipos de insectos de arroyo (macroinvertebrados acuáticos) que necesitan agua limpia y libre de contaminación para sobrevivir. ¿Qué encontrarán al voltear piedras, levantar hojas y buscar entre el lodo? Sigue leyendo para saber si su arroyo recibe una calificación de aprobación.
La mayoría de las personas saben que las secuoyas rojas son árboles muy altos. De hecho, son los árboles más altos del mundo. Lo que muchas personas no saben y nunca podrán ver es que hay otro gran bosque que crece en las alturas de las cubiertas frondosas de las secuoyas rojas. Esta adaptación de La casa construida por Jack explora esta cubierta secreta y oculta que está llena de plantas y animales que la llaman su hogar.
Do you like scavenger hunts? How do you tell if creek water is clean and healthy? Join Lucas and his sister as they act like scientists looking for certain kinds of stream bugs (aquatic macroinvertebrates) that need clean, unpolluted water to survive. What will they find as they turn over rocks, pick up leaves and sort through the mud? Read along to find out if their creek gets a passing grade.
When oil spills, workers hurry to clean the land and water. But oil spills can also affect every animal that lives in the area. Who helps these wild animals? On the East Coast, a team from Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research rushes to the scene to save as many as possible. Follow along to learn how these experts capture oiled animals and treat them quickly and safely so that they may be returned to the wild. This illustrated nonfiction is based on the extensive experience of the Oiled Wildlife Response Team at Tri-State.
Come along on a journey through the aquatic habitat of a forested wetland. Meet birds and bobcats, along with the beavers and beetles that call the soggy forest home. Kevin Kurtz continues his award-winning “A Day In” series, and once again delights readers with a rhythmic, nonfiction look into a typical day for the animals that live in this wet habitat.
Tudley, a pond-living painted turtle, adopts other animals' behaviors--simply because he doesn't know he can't! He flies like a bird, sings like a katydid, hops like a frog, and glows like a firefly. All the while, he uses his special behaviors to help other animals. But will Tudley's new friends help him when he needs help? The "For Creative Minds" education section includes fun facts about painted turtles, rubythroated hummingbirds, fireflies, leopard frogs, and true katydids. It also contains a "Make a Hopping Tudley" craft, a recipe for hummingbird sugar water, a "Creative Sparks" section, and a "Food for Thought" section.
Watch the vulture bask in the morning sun, the roadrunner kick up a cloud of dust, the javelina wallow, and the bobcat give her cub a licking with a rough tongue in Desert Baths. As the sun travels across the sky, learn how twelve different desert animals face the difficulties of staying clean in a dry and parched land. Explore the desert habitat through its animals and their habits of hygiene. Told in lyrical prose, this story is a celebration of the desert lands of the American Southwest.
This arctic adaptation of "This is the House that Jack Built" follows polar bears, walruses, seals, narwhals and beluga whales as they chase each other around "the ice that floats in the Arctic waters." Not only is the rhythmic, cumulative prose good for early readers; it is a pure delight to read aloud. The "For Creative Minds" section helps children learn how these animals live in the cold, icy arctic region.
As the sun begins to set, arctic animals scurry to prepare for six months of darkness and cold. Tuktuk the collared lemming is almost ready for the long winter night all he needs is warm fur to line his nest. When one furry kamik (boot) slips off an Inuit drivers sled, Tuktuk is in luck! But as he drags it home, Putak the polar bear, Aput the arctic fox, and Masak the caribou eye this little lemmings prize and want it for their own. Can Tuktuk outwit the other animals and convince them that one furry kamik is no good for anyone bigger than a lemming?
Like humans, animals can get sick or hurt. People visit doctors. Pets see veterinarians. What happens to wild animals when they are injured, become ill, or are orphaned? Often, wildlife rehabilitators are called to their rescue. This photographic journal takes readers behind the scenes at four different wildlife rehabilitation centers. Fall in love with these backyard animals as they are nursed back to health and released back to the wild when possible. This is the first of a photographic series introducing the different ways and the many people who care for a wide variety of animals.
The bustle of the crowd is waning and the zoo is quieting for the night. The polar bear picks up the ball and dribbles onto the court; the nightly game begins. A frog jumps up to play one-on-one and then a penguin waddles in to join the team. Count along as the game grows with the addition of each new animal and the field of players builds to ten. Three zebras serve as referees and keep the clock, because this game must be over before the zookeeper makes her rounds.
From slowing wildfires to planting seeds, one animal is the true superhero that keeps the African savanna in balance. Elephants dig to find salt that other animal lick, their deep footprints collect water for small creatures to drink, and they eat young trees to keep the forest from overtaking the grasslands. In every season, the elephants are there to protect the savanna and its residents but what would happen if the elephants were only once upon a time? Read along to discover the important role this keystone species plays in the savanna and explore what would happen if the elephants vanished.
As a huge wildfire roared along the Funny River in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, firefighters rushed to the rescue. When they found five three-week-old wolf pups in need, they raced into action to save the whole litter. With no wolf parents to help, zookeepers and vets at the Alaska Zoo made sure the babies grew into a healthy, happy pack. Follow this true story as the pups travel from their charred forest to the Alaska Zoo, where they grow big and strong before finally moving to their forever home at the Minnesota Zoo.
From the first light of dawn until the sun sets at night, the savanna is alive with noise. A lion roars in the early morning, a young baboon shrieks at noon, and a young mouse squeals at dusk. What are the animals saying and why? Animals communicate in many ways; explore the thriving African savanna as its inhabitants talk to one another throughout the course of a day
Little Woolly leaves her mother behind as she chases a toad down to the river. When the glacial ice breaks, she is swept away in the rumbling, rolling water. Now alone, the mammoth calf struggles to survive. She must sneak past cave lions, bears, saber-toothed cats and humans. Exhausted and afraid, she must even hide from stormy weather as she fights her way back to her herd. How can she find them? Will she ever get back?
Daisylocks needs a home that is just right. She asks Wind to help her find the perfect habitat to spread her roots, and he accepts the challenge. Wind blows Daisylocks to the plain, the mountain and the wetland. She objects to each place one by one too cold, too hard, too wet. Daisylocks is not ready to give up! They try the humid rainforest and then the warm beach; those are not just right either. Will Wind find the perfect climate and soil for Daisylocks to place her roots and grow into a beautiful flower?
Do you ever wonder how animals stay warm in the winter? Well they wonder how humans do too! In a twist of perspective, wild creatures question if humans use the same winter adaptation strategies that they do. Do they cuddle together in a tree or fly south to Mexico? Take a look through an animal's eyes and discover the interesting ways that animals cope with the cold winter months in this rhythmic story.
Baby Bat loves his cave home and never wants to leave it. While practicing flapping his wings one night, he falls, and Pluribus Packrat rescues him. They then explore the deepest, darkest corners of the cave where they meet amazing animals--animals that don't need eyes to see or colors to hide from enemies. Baby Bat learns how important bats are to the cave habitat and how other cave-living critters rely on them for their food. Will Baby Bat finally venture out of the cave to help the other animals?
The forest animals are surprised when a volcano suddenly explodes, covering the land in gritty, warm ash and rocks that make it unlivable for many plants and animals. Gopher survives in his underground burrow with food to eat. How does Gopher help bring life back to the mountain? Scientists spent years observing life returning to the mountain following the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. This fictionalized story is based on their surprising observations of how life returns to an area that has been totally changed or destroyed.
Cozy up for a rainy day read and explore the prairie ecosystem through its ever-changing weather. Each month features a storm typical of that season and a prairie animal who must shelter, hide, escape, or endure those storms. Told in lyrical prose, this story is a celebration of the grasslands that dominate the center of American lands and the animals that live there.
Chicken Little may have thought the sky was falling but Peter Pika is sure the glaciers are melting and is off to talk to the Mountain Monarch about it. Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt. Where will they live, how will they survive? When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them? More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaciers from melting?
