Porcupines are scary. Bats are ugly.Or are they . . . ?This captivating book invites you to look beyond your first impressions at these awe-inspiring animals in the wild. After all, it’s best not to judge a beast until you understand its full, lovely life.

    Kids are invited to find out where worms live, see how they move, and understand why gardeners consider them friends with the help of this humorous and informative look at an unappreciated — and fascinating — creature.

    A tiny leak could shoot pressurized water straight through the men like bullets! A single spark could cause their oxygen tanks to explode! No one had ever dived lower than a few hundred feet...and come back. But Otis and Will were determined to become the first people to see what the deep ocean looks like.This suspenseful story from acclaimed author Barb Rosenstock with mesmerizing watercolors by award-winning artist Katherine Roy will put you right in the middle of the spine-tingling, record-setting journey down, down into the deep.

    You can also find out what happens to water after it travels through a tree's roots, branches, and leaves, and how to figure out a tree's age.Clyde Robert Bulla's simple and concise text and Stacey Schuett's lush illustrations follow a tree's continuous life cycle through spring, summer, winter, and fall.

    A Caldecott medalist and a Newbery Honor-winning poet celebrate the beauty and value of spirals.What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over againbut also celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this fascinating shape.

    With the able assistance of Thing 1 and Thing 2 -- and a fleet of Rube Goldbergian vehicles -- the Cat in the Hat examines the various parts of plants, seeds, and flowers; basic photosynthesis and pollination; and seed dispersal.

    Laura Purdie Salas's lyrical rhyming text and Violeta Dabija's glowing illustrations show how rocks decorate and strengthen the world around them.

    But water doesn't always look the same, it doesn't always feel the same, and it shows up in lots of different shapes. Water can be a lake, it can be steam, it can be a tear, or it can even be a snowman.As the girl discovers water in nature, in weather, in her home, and even inside her own body, water comes to life, and kids will find excitement and joy in water and its many forms.

    These trusting, flightless, and beautiful birds—the largest and most unusual parrots on earth—have suffered devastating population loss.Now, on an island refuge with the last of the species, New Zealand’s National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the kakapo population. With the help of fourteen humans who share a single hut and a passion for saving these odd ground-dwelling birds, the kakapo are making a comeback in New Zealand.Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo.

    It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again. A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!Every child who opens the book will be amazed—and so will every parent.

    Using Photicular technology, each image is like a 3-D movie on the page, delivering a rich, fluid visual experience. Open the book, and the reader is swept into the magic of an underwater world, face-to-face with a floating Yellow-Banded Sweetlips; with a glow-in-the-dark Deep-Sea Anglerfish; with a Sea Horse swaying in balletic motion; with a Sand Tiger Shark gliding along the ocean floor, its gaze haunting, its hook-toothed mouth gulping open and closed. The text by Carol Kaufmann enchants with its descriptions of coral reefs; a journey on Alvin, the 17-ton submersible; and a meditation on our oceans. Then, for each creature, she writes a lively and informative essay, along with vital statistics—size, habitat, range, diet, and more. The Photicular process uses an innovative lenticular technology, sliding lenses, and original four-color video imagery. The result is like a movie in your hands—the dance of life in a book.

    "A good introduction to the subject."––BL. 1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1995 (NSTA/CBC)

    Filled with fluffy and scaly creatures big and small, this appealing book introduces the youngest explorers to the world of wildlife, using a child-friendly format inspired by the blockbuster National Geographic Little Kids magazine. This exciting new reference for the very young mirrors the magazine’s square shape, readable fonts, and fun content, to keep little ones thrilled with every colorful page.Little Kids First Big Book of Animals devotes four pages each to 32 high-interest creatures, including dolphins, tigers, butterflies, frogs, penguins, wolves, and pandas. More than 150 of National Geographic’s most charming animal photos illustrate the profiles, which feature just the kind of facts that little kids want to know—the creature’s size, diet, home, and more.Child-friendly text explains how animal parents take care of their young, how baby animals change as they grow, and how they learn to hunt and eat. The brief text, large type, and appealing profiles are perfect for young readers to enjoy on their own, or for parents and other caregivers to read aloud. These animal tales will quickly become favorites at storytime, bedtime, and any other time.

    But how do seeds get to the perfect place to grow? This exploration of seed dispersal covers a wide range of seeds and the creatures that help them move, from a coconut seed floating on waves to an African grass seed rolled by a dung beetle, to a milkweed seed floating on the wind.

    Seed becomes flower, paint becomes picture, word becomes story--and the commonplace becomes extraordinary as children look through and turn the pages of this novel and winning book.First the Egg is a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book and a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year.