Books with author Dawn Cusick

Full of laugh-out-loud gross facts about the animal kingdom's smelliest subject! Poop gets a bad rap, but it’s really very cool and useful. Animals use poop in many different ways: to trick predators and prey, send messages, feed themselves and their babies, build homes, mark their territories, and more. Young readers will discover why rabbits, hamsters, pigs and gorillas eat their own feces (gross!), why some ground-nesting birds circle their eggs with poop, and how caterpillars can build umbrellas made of poop to hide under. Perfect for young zoologists and fans of infotainment.

That’s so gross! Presented in partnership with Ranger Rick and the National Wildlife Federation, prepare to be grossed out by an engaging and unique look at some of the more disgusting survival techniques from the animal kingdom. From blood-squirting reptiles to blood-sweating mammals to nose-picking primates, learn about some of the ickiest creatures in the animal kingdom and the amazing purposes served by their grotty behaviors. From cleanup to dinnertime to self-defense, each off-putting act is actually an aid to survival!Author Dawn Cusick and the National Wildlife Federation have compiled a volume as attractive as its subject is nasty.

For more than forty-five years, the National Wildlife Federation has been dazzling families with amazing images and stories. Get ready for some supersonic fun that will make you say WOW! Discover jet propulsion in squid and dragonflies, camouflage in cuttlefish and katydids, photosynthesis in salamanders and sea slugs, vocal sacs in frogs, balance in giraffes and spider monkeys, and antenna fencing in crickets. Want more? How about spiders that use air bubbles like gills, skunks that eat bees, sea slugs that steal stinging cells from jellyfish, bower birds that build sparkling nests, and jawfish that brood eggs in their mouths! This book celebrates amazing animal surprises from all over the world with one-of-a-kind photographs from the NWF archives.

For more than forty-five years, the National Wildlife Federation has been dazzling families with amazing images and stories. Get ready for some supersonic fun that will make you say OUCH! Discover talon strength in birds of prey, sharp claws in lions and pumas, chewing mouthparts in insects, venom in snakes, and toxins in frogs. More? You want more? How about skunks that eat bees, stinging cells in jellyfish, meerkats that eat scorpions, caterpillars with spines, badgers and bears that bite, and zebras that kick! This book celebrates amazing animal surprises from all over the world with one-of-a-kind photographs from the NWF archives.

Budding scientists and animal behaviorists: get ready to be grossed out!Following in the footsteps of the bestselling Get the Scoop on Animal Poop!, Get the Scoop on Animal Puke offers hours of learning about the natural world. Animal vomit serves many purposes in the natural world: it can scare and distract predators, feed family and neighbors, protect animals from poisoning (they can’t call 911), aid with digestion, and so much more. Fun facts and cool photos will delight young scientists. Maybe puke isn't so gross after all!

Learn amazingly icky facts, see the yucky photos, and gross out everyone you can!Welcome to a world filled with snot otters, puss caterpillars, spitting spiders, slime stars, snotties, and more! In Get the Scoop, you'll learn that snot, spit, and slime may seem gross, but there's a lot of amazing science in these icky fluids. Animals use them for communication, defense, to find food, to travel fast, and more.Jellyfish and corals produce "mucus nets" to capture prey. Parrotfish burp out a mucus blanket to sleep under every night, while sea stars and sponges release volumes of mucus to distract and discourage predators. Barracudas use mucus in their scales to increase their swimming speeds and protect them from parasites. Poison dart frogs release toxins with mucus. Hagfish secrete slime if another animal tries to eat them. Clams and mussels make "mucus strings" to bring food to their mouths. Hippopotamuses release "blood slime" that works as sunscreen and an antibiotic.Saliva helps animals in hundreds of ways, too. Anteaters and giraffes use sticky saliva to help them eat, while leeches, vampire bats, and ticks use chemicals in their saliva to help them feed on blood. Many mammals use saliva to help them recognize offspring and others spit saliva at predators and prey. The venom in shrews, snakes, and other reptiles comes from adapted salivary glands. Some animal saliva works like glue, helping swifts, termites, and wasps build nests.

From blowing bubbles to spraying acid, the world's insects do amazing things with this under-appreciated part of their anatomy. Discover the wild and weird ways insects use their butts to avoid predators. Spittlebugs blow bubbles from their butts and hide under them, while some caterpillars shoot their poop far from their bodies to throw poop-searching wasps off their trail. Ants and beetles spray acid from their butts into the faces of predators, while some caterpillars and larvae build hide-outs with their poop to keep predators away.

Hey! Look out! Sharp-eyed readers will need to keep their eyes peeled in this engaging look at how animals of all shapes and sizes blend in and survive in their native ecosystems. How do animals deal with danger? From crocodiles standing on their tails to great white sharks with their jaws wide open to well-camouflaged venomous snakes, prospective naturalists and conservationists will have a lot to look out for in this exploration of dynamic ecosystems and the animals that hide and hunt in them. Back matter includes glossary, curated reading list and a scavenger hunt.

Tongues in all shapes, sizes and textures!This bright, colorful book explores the wild and wonderful variety of tongues in the world’s animals. Discover long tongues, sticky tongues, trick tongues, tube tongues, black tongues, blue tongues, red tongues, fork tongues, spike tongues, brush tongues, straw tongues, smelling tongues, curly tongues, cooling tongues, heating tongues, cleaning tongues, talking tongues, glow-in-the-dark tongues, and so many more.Snakes and some lizards use their long, flickering tongues to smell predators and prey, while chameleons use the sticky tip of their long, stretchy tongues to catch bugs for dinner. Crocodiles use special glands on their tongues to remove salt from their bodies, while newborn whales and dolphins use small bumps on their tongues to hang on to mom while she swims.This book also includes fun, easy experiments that illustrate the way animal tongues work, and cool tongue facts to gross out family and friends.

Once a child is old enough to recognize the difference between a peacock and a frog, the idea of a peacock frog is funny and intriguing. Does it look like a peacock or a frog? Does it have a tail or a beak? And what about a skunk tiger beetle? Does it have stripes like a tiger? Or worse, stink like a skunk? Every page of COOL ANIMAL NAMES invites laughter and discovery with 256 of the most bizarre animals on the planet. Discover weird animals such as the wolf spider, panther chameleon, and ant lion, which stalk prey the way their large mammal namesakes do, or animals such as the elephant shrew and elephant fish, which were named for their trunk-like appendages.

Poop gets a bad rap, but it’s really very cool and useful. Animals use poop in many different ways: to trick predators and prey, send messages, feed themselves and their babies, build homes, mark their territories, and more. Young readers will discover why rabbits, hamsters, pigs and gorillas eat their own feces (gross!), why some ground-nesting birds circle their eggs with poop, and how caterpillars can build umbrellas made of poop to hide under. There are so many ways to use poop, it is a shame to waste it.

Have you ever wondered why bugs have green blood? Or how vampire bats drink blood for meals? Get The Scoop on Animal Blood gives you all the gory, scientific details on what flows in animals veins. This book is hot blooded! And cold blooded! And green blooded! In fact, when you dive into the world of animals and their blood, things can get pretty gross and weird. But we know you like gross and weird! In this installment of the award-winning Get the Scoop series, you will find out why deep-diving mammals have larger blood cells than other animals and more of them. Have you ever wondered how vampire bats prefer to eat their bloody breakfast? We'll tell you! How about why stink bugs have green blood, or while horned lizards squirt blood from their eyes? We know that stuff, too! Get the Scoop on Animal Blood comes with more than 250 wild and awesome facts about animal blood, and also has over 200 color photos of animals and, you guessed it, their blood. With this book, you will be neck deep in bloody science fun.