Books in Animal Scientists series

Finding prey and detecting predators are life-or-death matters for animals. They use some technologically advanced systems including the senses we’re familiar with―and others that are far more sensitive. The book explains how bats use echolocation to hunt on the wing, tells how sharks can smell tiny amounts of blood from hundreds of yards away, and how supersensitive hairs on a spider’s body can pick up vibrations in the air.

Lions and scorpions and lethal little jellyfish, oh my! Kids will sink their teeth into this fascinating look at nature’s fiercest creatures.Sometimes nature can be nasty: snakes that spit poison, insects with exploding bottoms, and tigers that have you for dinner. Throughout the animal kingdom, creatures are equipped with lethal weapons, from finger-length fangs to toxic tentacles, and have ingenious ways of killing one another — poisoning, dive-bombing, strangling, and even electrocuting! Discover the murderous methods of attack and defense that make animals armed, dangerous, and deadly.Back matter includes an index and a glossary.

What’s better than POOP? Mini POOP!Hippos navigate by it, sloths keep in touch through it, dung beetles eat it . . . and most grown-ups would rather not to mention it. Meanwhile, scientists who study animal feces find out all sorts of things, such as how many insects a bat eats or just what method a T. rex used to devour a triceratops 70 million years ago. However you look at it, poop is the quintessential prototype for recycling and practically the most useful stuff on earth. Take a peek at POOP, the mini edition, and find out all you need to know — what it’s for, where it goes, and how much we can learn from it.Back matter includes an index and a glossary.

“This creative team adds to its cheeky series with this volume devoted to animal communication. . . . Entertaining and worthwhile.” —School Library JournalHow does a stinkbug flirt, a bee give orders, or a panda say “back off"? Animals find all sorts of ways to keep in touch without saying a word. They use colors, patterns, smells, movements, vibrations, sounds, and even electricity to communicate. From the chatter of dolphins to the click of a moth, from the stripes of a reef fish to the rumbling of elephants, this funny, fascinating book unlocks the mysteries of how animals talk and squawk to one another—and how humans try to talk back. Back matter includes an index and a glossary.

How does a stinkbug flirt, a bee give orders, or a panda say “back off"? A celebrated duo is back with a guide to messaging, animal-style.Humans aren't the only creatures who are constantly talking and transmitting messages: animals find all sorts of ways to keep in touch without saying a word. They use colors, patterns, smells, movements, vibrations, sounds, and even electricity to help them identify their own family or “team” — not to mention find food and shelter, defend their territory, woo the proper mate, and care for their young. From the chatter of dolphins to the click of a moth, from the stripes of a reef fish to the rumbling of elephants, this funny, fascinating book unlocks the mysteries of how animals talk and squawk to one another— and how humans try to talk back.Back matter includes an index and a glossary.

The creators of POOP are back with an entertaining look at the most incredible survivors on Earth.Are you ready for the competition? From the persevering emperor penguins of the South Pole to the brave bacteria inside bubbling volcanoes, from the hardy reptiles of the driest deserts to the squash-proof creatures of the deepest seabeds, animals have adapted to survive in conditions that would kill a human faster than you can say "coffin." Discover how they do it in this amazing natural history book from a celebrated team — and find out who wins the title of the toughtest animal of them all!

From a celebrated team comes a fascinating look at why we don’t have super powers (alas) — and why size matters, for creatures big and small.Did you ever wonder why there are no high-fl ying, wall-climbing, tall-building-leaping superheroes in real life? Find out what keeps big animals (like us) from engaging in astonishing feats of strength and agility, and yet why being tiny and all-powerful might have a downside. What if you could lift fi fty times your weight (hello, ant), but getting wet could kill you? Or you could soar like a bird, but a cold breeze would do you in? Whether big or small, our size defi nes more about us than we could ever imagine. Join the duo that brought us POOP, EXTREME ANIMALS, and WHAT'S EATING YOU? for a fun and intriguing exploration of what it means to be just the right size.