Animal Science

Easy beekeeping for new-bees. Wouldn’t it be great to raise your own bees, have a fresh supply of honey, and bring thousands of healthy pollinators into your yard? Beekeeping for Beginners is a simple, step-by-step guide that helps you learn the fundamentals of modern beekeeping. You (and your bees) will be buzzing with delight. From picking the right hive and bringing your bees home to surviving winter and collecting honey, experienced beekeeper Amber Bradshaw takes you on an easy-to-follow journey through your first year of beekeeping and beyond.

Remarkable new discoveries affirm the octopus as one of nature’s most intelligent and complex animals. This new book brings us closer than ever to these elusive creatures. The companion to the highly anticipated National Geographic television special, this book explores the alluring underwater world of the octopus—a creature that resembles an alien lifeform, but whose behavior has earned it a reputation as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet.

Without Zilla, there'd be no witches zooming around on their broomsticks and nobody would be allowed an exotic animal as a familiar. She grants permits for a living. Okay, it's not riveting stuff but it's important. The day a cute but pushy pussycat arrives at her apartment complex, so does a grotty old journal full of blank pages. Until now Zilla has enjoyed a simple life: her clean, quiet apartment; a couple of potted plants that she struggles to keep alive. She's not an exceptional woman. She doesn't have many friends. She's never owned a pet … and she most certainly does not want a cat.

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for — or rather, demands — the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients. For 50 years, generations of readers have flocked to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

Meow! Meow! Cats make fun pets. Some have short hair and some have long hair. Some have flat noses and others have stubby tails. Young listeners will learn about the appearance, behavior, and abilities of pet cats, and discover why these curious creatures make amazing pets.

To better understand the inner workings of our bodies and to trace the origins of many of today's most common diseases, we have to turn to unexpected sources: worms, flies, and even fish.

The sun is shining in the Hundred Isles, and yet the path forward seems crowded with shadows. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan have traveled across the world, seeking a set of powerful talismans in order to keep them from enemy hands. Throughout their journey the young heroes have been hounded by pursuers who always seem to know just where to find them. Now they know why…

Ever wonder how to tell if a moose is about to subtract you? Curious why you should be terrified of cassowaries, the “velociraptor that time forgot?” Questioning whether that cute baby hippo is actually a homicidal maniac in the making? Yeah, so was Mamadou Ndiaye . . . and now he's got your answers. 100 Animals That Can F--king End You is the ultimate countdown to merk by animal, featuring everything from tiny bugs that can turn you into a hashtag to animals so massive they can murder you by accident.

Military working dogs have played a vital role in the United States armed forces throughout history. In this celebration of their contributions to our nation, Lisa Rogak profiles these heroic dogs, capturing the devotion and respect these amazing canines, their devoted handlers, and fellow soldiers share for each other. A heartwarming collection for dog lovers everywhere, Dogs Who Serve is a must-listen tribute to America's military working dogs.

Co-author of the best-selling Mrs. Murphy novels, Rita Mae Brown launches a new series with this first mystery featuring Baxter the wirehaired dachshund. When Baxter and his owner, Mags, leave New York for Nevada, they find themselves embroiled in a real head scratcher. First, the local water-pumping station is sabotaged. Then, a murdered man’s bones - dating back to the 1800s - are unearthed in a barn owned by Mags’ great-aunt.

Book two left off with Gregor reading the Prophecy of Blood: a prophecy that calls for Gregor and Boots to return to the Underland to help ward off a plague. But this time, Gregor's mother refuses to let Gregor return to the Underland...until the rat Ripred assures the family that Gregor and Boots are needed only for a short meeting, which the crawlers will attend only if their "princess" Boots is present.

Salamandastron, under the guardianship of old Lord Stonepaw, is under threat from an enemy of immense and terrifying power. Ungatt Trunn, the wildcat who can make the stars fall from the sky, has attacked with his Blue Hordes and is determined that the fortress should be his. The mountain's defences are weak and it seems that nothing can stand in his way. Nothing, that is, but the badger Lord Brocktree, who is drawn to Salamandastron by an undeniable sense of duty. But if he is to rescue the mountain from Trunn, he must gather about him an army capable of defeating them in battle.

Riley Black brings us back in time to prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas where critical moments in plant evolution unfolded. Each chapter stars plants and animals alike, underscoring how the interactions between species have helped shape the world we call home. As the chapters move upwards in time, Black guides listeners along the burgeoning trunk of the Tree of Life, stopping to appreciate branches of an evolutionary story that links the world we know with one we can only just perceive now through the silent stone, from ancient roots to the present.

Elisabeth Tova Bailey tells the intimate and inspiring story of her year-long encounter with a snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, she becomes an astute and amused observer of the snail's surprising nocturnal adventures as it lives in a flowerpot on her nightstand. Intrigued by the snail’s clear decision making abilities, hydraulic locomotion, mysterious courtship, and molluscan anatomy, Bailey takes the listener deep into the life of this tiny amazing animal. With wit and grace, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating recounts a remarkable journey of human and gastropod survival and resilience, and shows how the natural world illuminates our own human existence. Winner of the William Saroyan International Prize for Nonfiction, the John Burrough Medal Award for Natural History, and a National Outdoor Book Award. If you enjoyed Wesley the Owl, The Guest Cat, and Marley & Me, you'll enjoy this unique interspecies audiobook listen.

Frostpaw was told to trust no cat, but a brutal attack has left her gravely injured, and she’ll need to depend on someone. When help arrives in the form of a young warrior, she convinces him to protect her as she follows StarClan’s cryptic directions toward the roots of RiverClan, where Riverstar has promised she’ll find the answers she’s been so desperately seeking.

As recently as 11,000 years ago - "near time" to geologists - mammoths, mastodons, gomphotheres, ground sloths, giant armadillos, native camels and horses, the dire wolf, and many other large mammals roamed North America. In what has become one of science's greatest riddles, these large animals vanished in North and South America around the time humans arrived at the end of the last great ice age.

“What’s for dinner"? seemed like a simple question - until journalist and supermarket detective Michael Pollan delved behind the scenes. From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young listeners’ adaptation of Pollan’s famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global health implications of their food choices. The Omnivore’s Dilemma serves up a bold message to the generation that needs it most: It’s time to take charge of our national eating habits - and it starts with you.

The global financial crisis has made it painfully clear that powerful psychological forces are imperiling the wealth of nations today. From blind faith in ever-rising housing prices to plummeting confidence in capital markets, "animal spirits" are driving financial events worldwide.

Finally home from London after his wartime service in the RAF, James Herriot is settling back into life as a country vet. While the world has changed after the war, the blunt Yorkshire clients and menagerie of beasts with weird and wonderful ailments remain the same. But between his young son, Jimmy, trailing him around copying his every move, stubborn farmers refusing to try his ‘new-fangled’ treatments and a goat that has eaten 293 tomatoes, Darrowby is far from quiet. And with another baby on the way, life is about to get even more chaotic.