Books with author David Ward

Packed with over 1,000 full-color photographs over more than 500 fossils, this handbook is designed to cut through the complex process of fossil identification to make it accessible to readers of all experience levels. Authoritative text, crystal-clear photography, and a systematic approach from Dorling Kindersley and the Smithsonian Institution make this guide both comprehensive and concise. Expertly written and thoroughly vetted, each entry combines a precise description with annotated photography to highlight each fossil's chief characteristics and distinguishing features. Each fossil is accompanied by a full-color illustration of the living animal or plant that the fossil once was in the distant past, while color-coded bands provide at-a-glance key facts to complete each entry. Also included is a comprehensive glossary so you can speak the language of a true paleontologist. Written by veteran paleontologist and curator Cyril Walker, and veterinary surgeon and fossil enthusiast David Ward, and packed with detailed information on recognition, classification, and more, DK’s Smithsonian Handbook of Fossils is the clearest identification guide to fossils for beginners and established enthusiasts alike.

Celebrate Thanksgiving with Tom and Martha Rabbit! Follow along with them and the Rabbit family in the days before Thanksgiving as they prepare for the holiday. On Thanksgiving, the family is joined by grandma, grandpa, and the cousins for a great time of cooking, eating, games, and giving thanks.This fun, color picture book is also suitable for early readers.The Bear and Rabbit Book Series is for story time, bedtime reading, and for early readers. The stories include colorful illustrations on every page which help early readers.

Suspenseful and engrossing, Beneath the Mask continues the story of Coriko, Pippa, and the expanding world of Grassland. After escaping the deadly warrior Spears, Coriko is finally free to take his destiny into his own hands. But freedom proves elusive in the face of a new trial—the Separation. At this horrible event, he learns the secret of one of Grassland’s biggest mysteries: What lurks beneath the masks of the mysterious Spears? Forced away from his beloved Pippa, Coriko is offered a comfortable life—clothes, his own home, a community—in exchange for committing unspeakable deeds. Trapped once again, Coriko must decide what he truly values, and what he’s willing to do to protect his way of life. F&P level: XF&P genre: F

In this dramatic conclusion to the Grasslands Trilogy, Corki, Pippa, and all their friends are reunited for a final fight to determine the future of Grassland. After escaping the mountains of Grassland, where Corki and Pippa and their friends were slaves and soldiers, the fugitives finally found a new life, and are seemingly safe at last. But as the former slaves explore new lands to the north, they discover that cruelty and injustice are not only found in Grassland, and that the people they visit may need their help. Grassland, too, may need assistance. When an appeal from an old friend reaches Corki and Pippa in their travels, will they have the courage to do what’s right for their old land, despite its cruel history? What will it cost them to change Grassland for the better?

Now in paperback! In Grassland the only hope of freedom is to go beyond the reach of sinister, silent masters, and the only family you know are your fellow captives. Coriko has never known a world beyond his cell and the fields where he toils all day. He does what he’s told and tries not to anger the Spears, the cruel, masked jailers who guard him and the other child slaves. If he gathers baskets of shards and keeps quiet and orderly, then he can spend time with his cellmate and best friend, Pippa. But without warning, the children’s orderly lives begin to change—slowly at first, with the arrival of a pair of siblings who speak Coriko and Pippa’s language. Soon after, violent events shake up the quiet world of Grassland, and Coriko must find the strength to grasp his freedom. Full of heartstopping action, Escape the Mask introduces Coriko, Pippa, and their friends—and begins the journey of The Grassland Trilogy. Praise for Escape the Mask “The quick pace immerses readers in an exotic locale . . . allows readers to experience the discovery . . .” —Kirkus Reviews “Comparable in some ways to Golding’s Lord of the Flies . . . bursts with action . . . excellent descriptive writing allows the reader to visualize the action.” —VOYA, 4Q4P F&P level: X F&P genre: F

A thrilling true crime caper, bursting with colorful characters and awash in ‘70s glamour, that spotlights the FBI's first white-collar undercover sting 1977, the Thunderbird Motel. J.J. Wedick and Jack Brennan—two fresh-faced, maverick FBI agents—were about to embark on one of their agency's first wire-wearing undercover missions. Their target? Charismatic, globetrotting con man Phil Kitzer, whom some called the world's greatest swindler. From the Thunderbird, the three men took off to Cleveland, to Miami, to Hawaii, to Frankfurt, to the Bahamas—meeting other members of Kitzer's crime syndicate and powerful politicians and businessmen he fooled at each stop. But as the young agents, playing the role of proteges and co-conspirators, became further entangled in Phil's outrageous schemes over their months on the road, they also grew to respect him—even care for him. Meanwhile, Phil began to think of Jack and J.J. as best friends, sharing hotel rooms and inside jokes with them and even competing with J.J. in picking up women. Phil Kitzer was at the center of dozens of scams in which he swindled millions of dollars, but the FBI was mired in a post-Watergate malaise and slow to pivot toward a new type of financial crime that is now all too familiar. Plunging into the field with no undercover training, the agents battled a creaky bureaucracy on their adventures with Phil, hoping the FBI would recognize the importance of their mission. Even as they grew closer to Phil, they recognized that their endgame—the swindler's arrest—was drawing near… Anchored by larger-than-life characters, framed by exotic locales and an irresistible era, Chasing Phil is high drama and propulsive reading, delivered by an effortless storyteller.

David Wade has spent a lifetime gathering and organizing the extraordinary families of surface patterns that nature throws up at every scale. The study of these shapes―a subject virtually unknown in the West―was known in ancient China as Li and is the sister science to Feng Shui. In this unique and insightful book are sand and wave patterns, big-cat markings, bark and leaf designs, soap and marbling swirls, crystalline and rock forms, tree branching types, and many more of nature's dynamic, sometimes enigmatic designs. Li will appeal to scientists and artists, and has far-reaching applications in graphic design, architecture, and other visual forms and sciences.

When Yeats and his parents visit his grandmother's creepy old house, Yeats reunites a pair of pirate bookends and uncovers the amazing truth: Years ago, Yeats's father traveled into The Arabian Nights with a friend, and the friend, Shari, is still stuck in the tales. Assisted by the not-always-trustworthy pirates, Yeats must navigate the unfamiliar world of the story of Shaharazad--dodging guards and tigers and the dangerous things that lurk in the margins of the stories--in order to save Shari and bring peace to his family.

A silly, drum-playing monkey named Marley learns to include her animal friends in her music in order to keep their interest and regain their attention. This is an important lesson that every child must learn. This 32 page rhyming book is fully illustrated by hand with full page, creative, color drawings. There are small extra characters hidden in most pages and plenty of silly ways the animals use human instruments, including a giraffe playing miracas and a snake playing a flute. Let your children admire the art and learn from the moral taught here. Written for children from approximately ages 3-7.

In this dramatic conclusion to the Grasslands Trilogy, Corki, Pippa, and all their friends are reunited for a final fight to determine the future of Grassland. After escaping the mountains of Grassland, where Corki and Pippa and their friends were slaves and soldiers, the fugitives finally found a new life, and are seemingly safe at last.But as the former slaves explore new lands to the north, they discover that cruelty and injustice are not only found in Grassland, and that the people they visit may need their help. Grassland, too, may need assistance. When an appeal from an old friend reaches Corki and Pippa in their travels, will they have the courage to do what’s right for their old land, despite its cruel history? What will it cost them to change Grassland for the better?