There are over 300 different species of turtles. They live in deep ocean waters to dry desert habitats and range in size from small box turtles to gigantic Galapagos tortoises. They all have shells as part of their skeleton but some shells are flat and others are large domes. Some turtles can pull heads into shells for protection but others cannot. Some are herbivores and others are omnivores but none have teeth. Learn more about what these reptiles have in common and how they are different through the latest edition of the Compare and Contrast Book series.
Octopuses and squids are both marine invertebrates that are sometimes confused. They both have eight arms, but one also has two tentacles. One has rectangle-shaped pupils but the other’s pupils are round. One swims or walks along the ocean floor with strong arms. The other only swims using fins. One lives alone in caves while the other lives in open waters. Learn more about what these animals have in common and how they are different through the latest installment of the Compare and Contrast Book series.
Fishes live all over the world in both fresh and saltwater and in tropical, temperate, or polar habitats. Some fishes have bones while others have cartilage skeletons. Sizes vary from tiny goldfish to huge great white sharks, with all kinds of sizes in between. From flat bottom-dwelling to torpedo fast-swimming, their body shapes match their needs. Some fishes, like flounders and seahorses, even have body shapes to camouflage themselves. Colors can range from grays and browns to bright reds, yellows, or blues. Explore the similarities and differences in this latest addition to the Compare and Contrast Series!
Some of the most often confused reptiles are alligators and crocodiles. While both are crocodilians and, in some cases, may even inhabit the same areas, they are quite different. Readers learn what they have in common and how to tell them apart. Both spend time on land and in water. One eats small animals but the other preys on animals larger than they are! One tends to have wide snouts and the other has v-shaped snouts. Explore fascinating facts about these large (and scary) animals in this latest installment of the Compare and Contrast Book series.
Perhaps you’ve seen an otter swimming and playing at a zoo or aquarium, but do you know how do these amazing animals live in the wild? Most are found in freshwater habitats, while others make their home in coastal kelp forests or can be found feeding along rocky shores. There are many similarities between river otters and sea otters, but there are also vast differences. Explore fascinating facts about these playful, aquatic mammals, meet the species, and awe at adorable photos in this latest installment of the Compare and Contrast Book series.
Yes, some of the 18 species of penguins live in cold, polar regions, but most penguins live in warm climates. One species even lives near the equator! These birds “fly” through the water with flippers instead of the air with wings. Most are black and white, but one species is blue and white. Some have red eyes, and some have yellow eyes. Some even have colorful bursts of feathers atop their heads. What do they all have in common and how are they different? Explore and learn about these lovable birds in this latest installment of the Compare and Contrast Book series.
Octavia Octopus and her sea-animal friends love playing camouflage games to practice how they would hide from a "big, hungry creature." Octavia, however, just cannot seem to get her colors right when she tries to shoot her purple ink cloud. What happens when the big, hungry shark shows up looking for his dinner? This creative book introduces basic colors along with the camouflage techniques of various sea animals - a great introduction to marine biology! The "For Creative Minds" educational section includes fun facts about octopuses and animal camouflage and protection. The craft uses primary colors (paint or tissue paper) to help children learn about blending colors.
Join Delfina the dolphin as she imagines that she becomes other sea animals: a fish, a sea turtle, a pelican, an octopus, a shark, even a manatee! The incredible morphing illustrations will have children laughing as they learn about the real differences between these ocean animals and their respective classes.
This soothing bedtime story explains how ten different marine mammals--animals that live in water but breathe air--sleep in the ocean. Based on up-to-date scientific research, the brief portraits are explained in simple, poetic language. Water Beds invites children to drift into sleep on gentle waves of imagination. The "For Creative Minds" educational section includes fun facts about marine mammal adaptations, and a "Design Your Own Marine Mammal" craft.
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.
Even kids can get involved in science! Ecologist Dr. Neeti Bathala and Jennifer Keats Curtis collaborate to bring us the story of these adventurous citizen scientists. Leena and her mom volunteer each summer to count the horseshoe crabs that visit their beach. With their dog Bobie at their sides, the duo spends a night on the shore surveying horseshoe crabs who have come to mate and lay eggs. Readers will learn valuable facts about these ancient animals and how they can get involved in the effort to conserve horseshoe crabs.
Alexa and the other children at her escuela in Costa Rica have a special project: they are raising American Crocodiles. She names her croc Jefe, which means "boss," because he seems to be in charge of all the other babies. Alexa brings him chicken and frogs to eat, and writes about his progress in her diary. Soon, her little hatchling is as big as a loaf of bread. He has grown into a juvenile and it is time for Alexa to say goodbye and for Jefe to return to the wild.
Sharks and dolphins both have torpedo-shaped bodies with fins on their backs. They slice through the water to grab their prey with sharp teeth. But despite their similarities, sharks and dolphins belong to different animal classes: one is a fish and gets oxygen from the water and the other is a mammal and gets oxygen from the air. Marine educator Kevin Kurtz guides early readers to compare and contrast these ocean predators through stunning photographs and simple, nonfiction text.
The animals of the South Sea are hungry. But who is hungrier than all of the rest? The kicking krill may swarm and the blue cod are out hunting for dinner, but neither is fierce enough to be tops in this habitat. Could it be the lurking sharks, pointy-tailed rays or the toothy barracuda? Dive into this rhythmic text to discover who is at the top of this food chain.
Penelope Parker lives with penguins! Short ones, tall ones; young and old--the penguins are from all over the Southern Hemisphere including some that live near the equator! Do the penguin antics prove too much for her to handle? Children count and then compare and contrast ten different penguin species as they learn geography.
Told in rhyming narrative, Habitat Spy invites children to find plants (or algae), invertebrates, birds, and mammals living in thirteen different North American habitats: backyard, beach, bog, cave, desert, forest, meadow, mountain, ocean, plains, pond, river, and swamp. Children will have fun discovering the characteristics of each habitat as they "spy," identify, and count the resident plants and animals and learn about the interactions between living and non-living things.
Hurricane . . . just the word brings to mind the power of these natural disasters. Humans watch the news and know of impending arrival. We board up windows and gather supplies. We might huddle in our homes or go inland. Then we wait for the storm to arrive. But what do wild animals do? Do they know when a storm is coming? If so, how do they prepare? This book explains how nine animals sense, react, and prepare for a hurricane. Based on research or observations, the brief portraits are explained in simple, poetic language for children of all ages.
When Sophia dreams that howling winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends, she shares some of her clothes with them. But her clothing doesn't work well for the animals. Seeing their disappointment, she offers to sew each one the "right" coat. Animals line up to explain what they need and why. Polar Bear needs white fur to stay warm and hide in the snow. Fish needs scales, but with slime. Snake needs scales too, but dry ones. And how will Sophia make a prickly coat for Porcupine? The award-winning team of Halfmann and Klein (Little Skink's Tail) reunite to bring animal coverings (and classification) to life in an imaginative way.
Astro is a stellar Steller sea lion! Only a few days old when found orphaned, he is cared for and raised at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California. When big enough to be released to the wild where he needs to be, he has other plans! Just like a lost dog finding his way home, Astro keeps swimming back towards the Center, crossing miles of open ocean water to do so. After several attempts, people realize that Astro is too accustomed to humans and will just keep coming back. Based on real events, readers follow Astro through some of his travels that have now taken him across the U.S. to his current home at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
This is a companion book to Mary Alice Monroe's novel, Swimming Lessons, the sequel to The Beach House. In the novel, the readers witness a young mother, Toy, writing a journal for her daughter, Little Lovie. This is the journal Toy is writing. Using original photographs, this scrapbook journal explains the nesting cycle of sea turtles and the natural life along the Southeastern coast, including local shore birds, shells, and the sea turtle hospital. Adults and children will enjoy the images, information and the journal with or without the novel. The "For Creative Minds" educational section includes turtle nesting facts, a shell identification activity, and a make-your-own nature journal.
This sequel to the award-winning Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean (2007 Teacher's Choice & 2005 Mom's Choice) takes readers on an around-the-world boat ride to learn how mammals sleep in or around nine major rivers of the world on all continents except Antarctica. Row down the Mississippi and watch two river otters slip into a hollow tree or look to the bank of the Brisbane River as a platypus pops into a hole and disappears into a narrow tunnel. Told in a soothing style, this book serves as a bedtime/naptime story for younger children or an animal geography book for older children. Adults may learn something, too! The "For Creative Minds" education section features a "World Map."
Seasons change in the ocean much as they do on land. Spring brings new plants and baby animals, summer oceans glow with sparkly plankton lights, and autumn winds blow across the open water. In winter the humpback whales migrate to warmer waters, just as some land animals move to warmer climates. The cycle begins again as they return to the northern waters in the spring. In fun, fanciful form, Ocean Seasons introduces plants and animals that are joined through the mix of seasons, food webs, and habitats beneath the waves. While set in the Pacific, similar changes occur in the Atlantic also. The "For Creative Minds" learning sections features and "Ocean Food Web Card Game."
Enjoy a day in one of the most dynamic habitats on earth: the salt marsh. Fun-to-read, rhyming verse introduces readers to hourly changes in the marsh as the tide comes and goes. Watch the animals that have adapted to this ever-changing environment as they hunt for food or play in the sun, and learn how the marsh grass survives even when it is covered by saltwater twice a day. An activity on adaptations is included in the "For Creative Minds" section.
The sea is a place of mystery, where animals big and small play hide and seek! Can you imagine a shark hiding in the light? What about a clownfish in plain sight? Don't believe it? Then, sink into the deep blue sea with Jennifer Evans Kramer and Ocean Hide and Seek! Surround yourself with the vibrant ocean illustrations of Gary R. Phillips. The ocean is an old, old place, and the exotic animals in the depths have learned to adapt to their surroundings to survive. Can you find the creatures hidden on every page? Or will you, too, be fooled by an ancient, underwater disguise? The "For Creative Minds" learning section includes an "Animal Classification" and "Food for Thought" activity.
Follow the photo journal of Carolina, a critically ill loggerhead sea turtle, as she is cared for and nursed back to health at the Sea Turtle Hospital of the South Carolina Aquarium. Just like hospitalized children, Carolina goes through a variety of emotions and procedures during her care and recovery process. When she first arrives at the hospital, she is too sick, weak, and confused to understand what is happening. She has blood drawn, x-rays taken, gets shots, and is fed through an IV...just as ill children may be! As she gains strength, she begins to interact with her caregivers and to, begrudgingly, understand that they are really trying to help. Join her as she interacts with her many caregivers and her sick or injured roommate turtles. Celebrate the happy day she is released back into the open arms of the ocean - a healthy and happy sea turtle! The "For Creative Minds" section includes a craft, game ideas and information on sea turtles. The author and photographer donate a portion of their royalties to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Program at the South Carolina Aquarium.
