Each fall, while the city's inhabitants dine on steaks, salads, and sandwiches, the great white sharks return to California's Farallon Islands to hunt their favorite meal: the seals that live on the island's rocky coasts. Massive, fast, and perfectly adapted to hunting after 11 million years of evolution, the great whites are among the planet's most fearsome, fascinating, and least understood animals. In the fall of 2012, Katherine Roy visited the Farallons with the scientists who study the islands' shark population. She witnessed seal attacks, observed sharks being tagged in the wild, and got an up close look at the dramatic Farallons—a wildlife refuge that is strictly off-limits to all but the scientsts who work there. Neighborhood Sharks is an intimate portrait of the life cycle, biology, and habitat of the great white shark, based on the latest research and an up-close visit with these amazing animals.

    If you had a beaver's, you'd have orange teeth! And if you had a naked mole rat's set of teeth, you could move each one separately, like chopsticks! The animal kingdom has lots of cool teeth, but yours are pretty awesome, too!

    Since then, animals have evolved an amazing variety of eyes, along with often surprising ways to use them.

    As an adult, she dives even deeper. Whether she's designing submersibles, swimming with the whales, or taking deep-water walks, Sylvia Earle has dedicated her life to learning more about what she calls "the blue heart of the planet." With stunningly detailed pictures of the wonders of the sea, Life in the Ocean tells the story of Sylvia's growing passion and how her ocean exploration and advocacy have made her known around the world. This picture book biography also includes an informative author's note that will motivate young environmentalists.Life in the Ocean is one of The Washington Post's Best Kids Books of 2012

    Cute is for feathery-gilled axolotls (pronounced: ax-uh-LOT-ulz), shy pygmy hippos, poisonous blue dragons, and armored pangolins. All of these animals are cute, but they've also adapted remarkable ways to survive in their unique environments.

    But these and many other animals are in danger of disappearing altogether, joining the dodo, the marsupial wolf, the great auk, and countless other animals we will never see again. Using the experiences of a few endangered species as examples, Martin Jenkins highlights the ways human behavior can either threaten or conserve the amazing animals that share our planet. Vicky White’s stunning portraits of rare creatures offer a glimpse of nature’s grace and beauty — and give us a powerful reason to preserve it.

    Here, readers are given the actual size of an eye right on the page, and we are informed how understand this whale's body size in relation to trucks, cars, milk bottles, and hippos! With an accurate and engaging text, fully vetted by a blue whale expert, and lyrically lovely illustrations, The Blue Whale is a book that invites children in and holds their attention. Its tempo is like a pleasing melody, which means that the information never becomes too weighty or exhausting―a key thing when it comes to young readers and their enjoyment of a book!

    Which sea creature is the greatest? Is it the one with the most venom, the greatest diver, the one with blue blood, or the best rotating eyes? Or is it the master of disguise, the one with the best light, the most slime, or the most eggs? Fascinating facts and spectacular illustrations will inspire young readers to choose their own favorite sea creatures!

    Do you know which deep sea creature scares away its enemies by spraying ink at them, or which fish has lights inside its mouth to attract food?Learn the answer to these questions and other fascinating details about ocean life in this engaging and informative book.Young readers will delight in Jerry Pallotta's words and Frank Mazzola, Jr's illustrations on this alphabetical journey through the North Atlantic Ocean.

    It swims over for a closer look at the small creature. Then--WHAM!--the mantis shrimp strikes a nasty blow with its hammer-like forelimb. The octopus shrinks back, defeated. That wasn't such an easy meal after all . . . In nature, good defenses can mean the difference between surviving a predator's attack and becoming its lunch. Some animals rely on sharp teeth and claws or camouflage. But that's only the beginning. Meet creatures with some of the strangest defenses known to science. How strange? Hagfish that can instantaneously produce oodles of gooey, slippery slime; frogs that poke their own toe bones through their skin to create claws; young birds that shoot streams of stinking poop; and more.-- "Journal"

    Frizzle's class is growing a beautiful garden. But, Phoebe's plot is empty. Her flowers are back at her old school! So, the class climbs aboard the Magic School Bus. And, of course, the kids don't only go back to Phoebe's school, but they go inside one of Phoebe's flowers! Follow the kids' adventure and learn how living things grow.

    They use powerful venom or crushing strength to overwhelm their victims. Then they swallow them whole!With breathtaking full-page images, Sibert Medal-winning photographer Nic Bishop introduces the terrifying and beautiful world of snakes. The simple, engaging text presents both basic information and captivating details about the appearance, habits, and remarkable abilities of these amazing reptiles. An index and glossary are included, along with an author's note detailing his research and the fun stories behind the photographs.

    Follow Beauty's brave and inspiring story as she grows up in the wild, is rescued after being illegally shot, and receives a new beak specially engineered by a human team including a raptor biologist, engineer and dentist. Learn more about how bald eagles as a species came back from near extinction, and about nationwide efforts to conserve this American symbol.

    Paintings by Michael Carroll, coupled with real telescopic images, help readers visualize the facts and ideas presented in the text, such as how light bends, and what a supernova looks like.A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE is an excellent introduction to an extremely complex scientific concept. Back matter includes a timeline which sums up important findings discussed throughout, while the glossary and index provide a quick point of reference for readers. Children and adults alike will learn a ton of spacey facts in this far-out book that’s sure to excite even the youngest of astrophiles.

    As large as whales, they hide beyond reach deep within the sea, forcing scientists to piece together their story from those clues they leave behind.An injured whale's ring-shaped scars indicate an encounter with a giant squid. A piece of beak broken off in the whale's belly; a flash of ink dispersed as a blinding defense to allow the squid to escape-- these fragments of proof were all we had . . . until a giant squid was finally filmed in its natural habitat only two years ago.In this beautiful and clever nonfiction picture book about the giant squid, Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann explore, both visually and poetically, this hidden creature's mysterious life.A Neal Porter Book