What is tornado alley and where in the world is it? Why are tornados called “twisters”? This dynamic title answers these questions and more as readers discover what tornadoes look like, how, when, and where they most often form, how scientists predict and track them, and the safety steps they can take before, during, and after a tornado touches down.
This informative book shows young readers how and why long periods of hot weather occur, where and when heat waves happen most often, and how extreme heat can be dangerous to people and animals. Readers will also learn about water shortages, droughts, and fire hazards, the equipment that meteorologists use to forecast heat waves, and techniques to stay safe during times of extreme heat.
Vibrant, full-color photographs and accessible text help introduce young readers to hurricanes. Readers will learn how warm water and wind combine to form these powerful storms, which parts of the world are most affected and when, and what steps to take to prepare for these severe weather events.
Blizzards bring blowing snow, bitter temperatures, and big snow drifts! This cool title introduces young readers to blizzard basics, including how, when, and where blizzards most often occur, how scientists predict blizzards and issue warnings, and what readers can do before, during, and after a blizzard to stay safe.
Fun pictograms and infographics about the oceans make learning about math topics easy and fun. In this book, readers go on a mission deep underwater and use their mathematical skills while learning about scuba diving and submarines, and exploring life in coral reefs, deep ocean waters, and underwater volcanoes. Math puzzles and exercises help children build confidence in their math skills.
From the sunlit-filled canopy to the shaded forest floor, readers will discover how a rainforest tree provides shelter, water, food, and other essential resources to meet the needs of a variety of living things.
Content-rich photographs and accessible text combine to guide readers as they discover the often overlooked ecosystems found outside their own back doors! Children will be fascinated to learn more about the animals, insects, and plants they often take for granted, including squirrels, skunks, bees, and dandelions.
Did you know that a Saguaro cactus can live for more than 200 years and grow as tall as 50 feet (15 meters)? Readers will discover how these desert giants are used for shelter by animals such as woodpeckers and owls, and provide food for animals such as bats and other small mammals. This captivating title provides a close-up look at the plants and animals that live in and around the Saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert.
One of the biggest adaptations made by some animals is to live and work together as a group to ensure their survival. This intriguing book shows how social animals communicate and interact with members of their own species. Elephants, dolphins and orcas, monkeys, apes, lions, and wolves, educate their young, work together to find food, and take care of their group members. Smaller animals that work together in microsocieties include termites, ants, bees, and wasps. Students will have fun comparing their own social groups to those found in nature. Fascinating photographs accompany thought-provoking questions and activities.
From croaking frogs and quacking ducks to floating lily pads and buzzing dragonflies, ponds are bursting with life. Dynamic photographs and descriptive text help budding young scientists discover the plants and animals that live in these freshwater ecosystems.
Tide pools form from water left on rocky shores when the tide withdraws. From seaweed and sea snails to shore crabs and seabirds, readers will discover some of the plants and animals that live in and around these ever-changing ecosystems.
Vibrant photographs and descriptive text guide readers on an underwater journey through coastal waters to explore coral reefs. Home to more than one million kinds of plants, fish, and other ocean life, readers will discover how living things meet their needs for shelter, food, and more in this dynamic ecosystem.
Wild animals are facing huge challenges in the natural world today. Many are endangered - some critically. This eye-opening book shows how animals are being threatened by habitat loss, climate change, non-native species taking over their habitats, pollution, over-fishing, poaching, collisions with cars and boats, and human diseases. Many recovery efforts are in progress to bring back the populations of some nearly extinct animals and to reintroduce some captive ones to their natural habitats. Readers will learn how scientists are working to save blue iguanas in the Cayman Islands, black-footed ferrets in the Canadian prairies, penguins and albatross in Patagonia, and great apes in Africa. This engaging book also encourages students to compare their life challenges to those of animals in the wild.
This fascinating book, illustrated with colorful photographs, makes the topic of symbiosis easy and fun. It looks at the positive, negative, and neutral effects that result when different kinds of animals interact with each other. Symbiotic relationships highlighted include birds and fish that clean parasites off other animals, bacteria that help keep animals and people healthy, mosquitoes that pass diseases such as malaria, predators that hunt prey, and scavengers that help clean the earth. Other examples of symbiotic relationships include several kinds of animals. Students are asked to illustrate symbiosis in human relationships that are similar to those found in nature.
Foxes, rabbits, mongooses, rats, starlings, turtles, Burmese pythons, and Asian carp are just a few of the invasive animals introduced by people into countries and ecosystems to which they do not belong. This important book describes how these animals are destroying habitats and endangering the lives of native animals, some of which have been brought close to extinction. Students will learn how some arrived accidentally on boats, while others were brought in by people, to be used either as a form of pest control on farms, for hunting or hobbies, or as pets that sometimes get abandoned in the wild by owners. Many native animals, such as raccoons, squirrels, and coyotes have also become invaders in cities, back yards, and homes. Students can research invasive species in their areas and help find ways to stop these wild invaders from taking over the natural habitat.
Students will love learning about the way of life of polar bears and the challenges they face as babies and adults. An exciting narrative format supported by fun facts, questions, and activities, tells the story of two polar bear cubs born in a den dug by their mother deep under the winter snow of the Arctic. The cubs snuggle up to their mother to drink her milk and keep warm. In spring, the mother and cubs emerge from the den and face the challenges of moving onto sea ice, where the hungry mother hunts for seals to eat. The cubs are given hunting lessons and have their first taste of seal. They ride on their mother’s back in the ocean, wrestle and play, and explore their cold habitat. Readers will love these majestic animals and learn to write their own stories about them.
Students will love learning about the way of life of raccoons and the challenges they face as babies and adults. An exciting narrative format supported by fun facts, questions, and activities, tells the story of one of the most adaptable animals on Earth. Raccoons eat almost anything, live in many kinds of habitats, including cities, can climb buildings as well as trees, and are able to change to overcome many challenges. This story follows a raccoon family’s nightly adventures in a forest near a suburban community, as they look for food in both their natural habitat and people’s back yards. What other animals will they meet? Readers will be asked to write about their own experiences with these cute but often challenging animals.
Students will love learning about the way of life of foxes and the challenges they face as babies and adults. There are gray foxes, arctic foxes, fennec foxes, cape foxes, swift foxes, kit foxes, and red foxes. An exciting narrative format supported by fun facts, questions, and activities, tells the story of a red fox family. Found all over the planet, red fox families start with the birth of four to six kits. Born in a den, the baby foxes leave the den with their mothers after two to three weeks and start to play, pounce, and hunt. What adventures will they have? Will they meet some other animals along the way? Readers will love these adorable animals and learn to write their own stories about them.
Students will love learning about the way of life of wolves and the challenges they face as babies and adults. An exciting narrative format supported by fun facts, questions, and activities, tells the story of gray wolves who live in highly structured social units called packs. A pack has one breeding pair and their offspring, and may include older siblings or wolves from other packs. This delightful adventure story starts with the excitement created by the birth of newborn cubs and how the other members of the pack bond with them. The cubs are taught vocal and physical communication and soon learn to hunt with the pack. This exciting story will enrich students' understanding of the importance of gray wolves to ecosystems in North America. Young readers will be amazed by how much the lives of wolves mimic their own lives!
Earth's surface is constantly being changed by heat, water, ice, salt, plants, and animals. Sometimes the changes are destructive to human activities such as farming and the building of structures. This interesting title shows the different ways people try to stop or reduce this change in the land. Examples feature such structures as dikes to hold back water and windbreaks, and adding shrubs, grass, and trees to an area of land to prevent erosion. Teacher’s guide available.
Animals are endangered in many kinds of habitats and for different reasons. This intriguing book looks at why some animals have become endangered due to changes in their habitat. Examples include animals in the Arctic that rely on ice for hunting face the challenge of melting ice due to climate change, the populations of animals born only on particular islands and nowhere else are shrinking, and many kinds of ocean animals are being poisoned by water pollution. Ideas are included to encourage readers to help protect these endangered animals and their habitats.
This entertaining book shows how animals communicate to share information, attract mates, or scare away enemies. They sing, growl, howl, spray smelly scents, and make their body parts bigger. Students will have fun learning about these communication skills and be asked to compare their communication methods with those of animals.
Animals adapt, or change, to stay alive. Adaptation can happen in an animal’s body or in the way it behaves. Some adaptations have taken place over many years, and others are caused by changing habitats due to the actions of people. This informative book shows animal adaptations due to changing climates, habitat changes, and opportunistic behaviors that help animals survive, such as the creation of new species. The coywolf, for example, is a new species. It is part coyote and part wolf, and has a much greater chance of survival than either of the animals that created it.
People have learned a lot from animals and copied many of their ways of surviving. This interesting book details many, often surprising, examples: bird flight and airplanes; defensive equipment such as helmets and turtle shells; strong spiderlike threads for surgeries; heating and cooling systems such as those created by termites; camouflage patterns on uniforms or vehicles in battle; and animal prints copied in fashions and decorations.
This fun title asks readers to think about how different body coverings protect animals by keeping them warm and safe. From fur and feathers to scales and shells, readers get a close-up look at different animal coats to see how they suit the habitats and lives of the animals that are covered in them.
