Books with author Virginia B. Silverstein

Within every drop of pond water lurks an invisible world, alive with an amazing variety of microscopic animals. And with the help of this book and a microscope, you can bring these tiny creatures into focus and discover the ways in which they live.You'll trace the path of a blob-like amoeba as it stretches out its pseudopods to hunt and gobble up its prey, and you'll see the life-or-death water ballet of a slipper-shaped paramecium as it swims away from its mortal enemy, the pincushion-shaped suctorian. You'll also meet the euglena, classified as both plant and animal; the rotifer, a creature with two wheels of whirling hairlike projections that help it move by squeezing in and out like an accordion; and the incredible hydra, a fearsome bully that constantly threatens other small animals with its crown of grasping tentacles.With this book, your key to the world of single-celled organisms, you'll learn fascinating lessons about how these strange animals eat, reproduce, and defend themselves. Enter their microscopic domain and see for yourself!

Within every drop of pond water lurks an invisible world, alive with an amazing variety of microscopic animals. And with the help of this book and a microscope, you can bring these tiny creatures into focus and discover the ways in which they live.You'll trace the path of a blob-like amoeba as it stretches out its pseudopods to hunt and gobble up its prey, and you'll see the life-or-death water ballet of a slipper-shaped paramecium as it swims away from its mortal enemy, the pincushion-shaped suctorian. You'll also meet the euglena, classified as both plant and animal; the rotifer, a creature with two wheels of whirling hairlike projections that help it move by squeezing in and out like an accordion; and the incredible hydra, a fearsome bully that constantly threatens other small animals with its crown of grasping tentacles.With this book, your key to the world of single-celled organisms, you'll learn fascinating lessons about how these strange animals eat, reproduce, and defend themselves. Enter their microscopic domain and see for yourself!

With this easy-to-read book, children will discover the facts behind the seemingly magical conversions that transform a wooly caterpillar into a graceful butterfly and a swimming tadpole into a leaping frog. Far from being supernatural, these changes involve a fascinating natural process, and this book presents a well-illustrated look at how some baby animals develop from a larval stage into adults that bear little resemblance to their former selves.The authors, seasoned writers of popular science books for children, examine the metamorphoses of moths, honeybees, dragonflies, starfish, and eels. Their imaginative analogies, phrased in simple language, offer a memorable introduction to a fundamental natural process. Ideal for school use, this book offers fascinating facts that will capture young readers outside the classroom as well.

The soil in forests, meadows, and fields — even in vacant city lots or your own backyard — swarms with countless tiny creatures, most of which are born, struggle for life, and die just beneath the earth’s surface. In fact, you can find a bountiful sampling of these underground inhabitants simply by filling a bucket with soil. The small animals you’re likely to find are vividly described in this fascinating, easy-to-read book, specially designed to acquaint you with a vast, living world beneath your feet.You’ll learn about tunnel-building earthworms; threadlike, wriggly roundworms; snails and slugs (the “slime gliders”); armored scavengers such as wood lice and centipedes; “flying tanks,” more commonly known as beetles; lurking hunters such as spiders; the busy underground colonies of ants; and numerous other inhabitants of the soil. You’ll find out how these diminutive animals live, breed, and interact; learn about their methods of locomotion, feeding, and defense; and even discover how they affect the soil in which they live. The authors also provide helpful suggestions for collecting specimens and explain how they can be preserved and studied.Illustrated with more than 70 detailed black-and-white drawings, this fact-filled book will introduce you to an amazing subterranean world most people never even think about. It is sure to appeal to young naturalists, junior biologist, insect lovers, and anyone curious about the natural world.

The soil in forests, meadows, and fields — even in vacant city lots or your own backyard — swarms with countless tiny creatures, most of which are born, struggle for life, and die just beneath the earth’s surface. In fact, you can find a bountiful sampling of these underground inhabitants simply by filling a bucket with soil. The small animals you’re likely to find are vividly described in this fascinating, easy-to-read book, specially designed to acquaint you with a vast, living world beneath your feet.You’ll learn about tunnel-building earthworms; threadlike, wriggly roundworms; snails and slugs (the “slime gliders”); armored scavengers such as wood lice and centipedes; “flying tanks,” more commonly known as beetles; lurking hunters such as spiders; the busy underground colonies of ants; and numerous other inhabitants of the soil. You’ll find out how these diminutive animals live, breed, and interact; learn about their methods of locomotion, feeding, and defense; and even discover how they affect the soil in which they live. The authors also provide helpful suggestions for collecting specimens and explain how they can be preserved and studied.Illustrated with more than 70 detailed black-and-white drawings, this fact-filled book will introduce you to an amazing subterranean world most people never even think about. It is sure to appeal to young naturalists, junior biologist, insect lovers, and anyone curious about the natural world.

With this easy-to-read book, children will discover the facts behind the seemingly magical conversions that transform a wooly caterpillar into a graceful butterfly and a swimming tadpole into a leaping frog. Far from being supernatural, these changes involve a fascinating natural process, and this book presents a well-illustrated look at how some baby animals develop from a larval stage into adults that bear little resemblance to their former selves.The authors, seasoned writers of popular science books for children, examine the metamorphoses of moths, honeybees, dragonflies, starfish, and eels. Their imaginative analogies, phrased in simple language, offer a memorable introduction to a fundamental natural process. Ideal for school use, this book offers fascinating facts that will capture young readers outside the classroom as well.