Books in Tony Stead Nonfiction Independent Reading Collections series

Dr. Doug Wechsler, a wildlife biologist, ornithologist, and photographer, has written this wonderful series on birds of prey. Each book includes an introduction to a bird: its size, color, and habitat; its hunting, eating, and migration habits; how and where it builds its nest, and its survival strategies. Clear, accessible, and often humorous text is combined with spectacular photography from VIREO, the Visual Resources for Ornithology, and The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, to create books that will delight and inform your students.If your eyes were as big as an owl's eyes, they would be the size of tennis balls. Wildlife biologist Doug Wechsler fills this wonderful book on great horned owls with wild facts that are guaranteed to hold a young reader's interest. Beautiful photography and practical tips about how and where to spot these gigantic but shy birds make this book both entertaining and informative.

In this richly illustrated series, students will learn about the lives and times of history's most infamous pirates. From the 1500s to the 1800s, from the Barbary Coast to the swamps of Louisiana, these six books will provide your students with pertinent historical information and the larger social context that makes these pirates a comprehensible part of their times.

The diversity of the fungus kingdom is explored and sorted in ways kids can follow in this informative book. Mushrooms, yeasts, and molds all make featured appearances, along with spores, budding, gills, and hyphae. Some fungi can be harmful to other living things. Some provide great help as decomposers. Whatever the case, kids will be enthralled by these weird and wonderful living things.