Dinner is served. What in nature could be more poetic than the hunt for food and the struggle for survival? In twenty-nine poems readers will squirm at the realities of how the animal world catches food, eats it, and becomes dinner in turn. In these quirky poems readers are introduced to many animals with disgusting eating habits, such as the marabou stork that lurks on the periphery, like a vampire in the shadows, waiting for a chance to pick at a rotting carcass. The dermestid beetle does not mind doing the dirty work, cleaning up animals on the road side and often made busy at museums cleaning up bones for exhibits. And, baby wasps hatch inside an unsuspecting caterpillar and eat their way out. Gross, cool, and extremely funny, David Clark's illustrations get to the heart (and skin and guts) of the food chain and the web of life, depicting the animal world at dinner time in all its gory glory. Back matter includes further information about the animals in the poems and the scientific terms used.
Fascinating facts and information about organisms that survive by sucking blood.
Photographs and text introduce animals that utilize camouflage, mimicry, and other curious techniques as defense mechanisms. These animals include skunks, porcupines, walking sticks, kingsnakes, and octopuses.
Provides information about the wide variety of features that animals have and why their features are important.
Engaging text describes animals who can move in amazing ways.
Photographs and simple text introduce various animals that depend on speed for survival, which include dolphins, cheetahs, ostriches, antelope, horses, and others
Engaging text describes animals that don't always do what the rest of their species does.
Take an in depth look at animal life in this science encyclopedia.
