Books in Amazing Animal Architects series

Meet the silkmakers, some of the most remarkable, yet often overlooked, animal architects in the natural world. Find out how a trapdoor spider builds an amazing hideout, with a hidden door that springs open when prey is near! See how an ogre-faced spider hangs upside down as it builds a sticky silken box as a trap. And find out how a diving spider constructs a two-room silk house underwater and lives there, inside a bubble of air!

The world of mammals is wonderfully rich and varied. It includes thousands of species -- everything from orangutans to muskrats to squirrels. Some animals, such as chimpanzees, build their homes in just a few minutes. Others, such as beavers, will take many days to make sure their lodge or dam is both sturdy and safe. Mammals are highly intelligent, and each time one of these animals builds a new home, it may be built a little differently, a little faster, a little stronger, a little better.

Everyone has heard the phrase busy as a beaver and this book illustrates the meaning of that expression. Beavers are extremely industrious animals that can change an entire landscape as they cut down trees to build lodges and dams. There are benefits and difficulties in sharing a place with these natural architects. They provide vital wetland homes for countless animals, but near people, their work can cause flooding that harms homes and farms.