Animals Nonfiction

Why do dogs bark? Do they get lonely? These questions and more are answered in this fun and engaging book for young listeners.

In January 1925, many people in Nome, Alaska, and the surrounding area were sick and dying from an outbreak of diphtheria. A supply of medicine was found but there was one problem—it was hundreds of miles away. The only way to get it to Nome was by dogsled.

Did you know food scraps you throw away help plants and vegetables grow? Scavengers, animals who eat our food scraps, and decomposers: bacteria, fungi, and insects break the food down into soil. They eat some and put the rest into the soil we use for planting and gardening. Can you guess which animals and bugs make the best decomposers? What are scientists learning about decomposers?

Who is the first to show up to a forest fire? It's not firefighters—it's the Charcoal beetles! Looking for a place to lay their eggs, they search for the hottest parts of the fire in order to use the burnt trees. Learn how these beetles can sense fires and why fires are their ideal breeding grounds. Find out why scientists want to study these unusual bugs in order to help society!

Chincoteague islanders tell a story of beautiful ponies inhabiting a neighboring island for over 300 years–nestled between Maryland and a Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, wild ponies of Assateague Island run free! The legend of Chincoteague ponies has been told for centuries through books and tourist visits of the island. Learn how the ponies adapted and came to inhabit an island of their very own.

Treat yourself and start listening to learn about some of the cutest of baby animals around. It doesn't matter if they are eating, sleeping, or playing; the babies in this series are absolutely adorable. Expect to smile and laugh as you listen. This volume includes Baby Giraffes, Baby Wolves, Baby Goats, Baby Gorillas, Baby Elephants, and Baby Tigers.

Treat yourself and start listening to learn about some of the cutest of baby animals around. It doesn't matter if they are eating, sleeping, or playing; the babies in this series are absolutely adorable. Expect to smile and laugh as you listen. This volume includes Baby Hippos, Baby Rhinos, Baby Lions, Baby Hedgehogs, Baby Squirrels, and Baby Pandas.

Have you ever heard of an invertebrate that spends its whole life inside another animal? What about a beetle that spends most of its life underground? Young listeners will learn all about lancet flukes, Hercules beetles, and other invertebrates with unusual life cycles.

Tyrannosaurus was the fiercest meat-eating dinosaur. It was “king of the tyrant lizards,” with 50 sharp, jagged teeth!

Triceratops means “three-horned face.” This massive dinosaur had a parrot-like hard beak and a bony frill around its head. Triceratops had a horn above each eye and another horn on its nose. These horns were used to protect it from other meat-eating dinosaurs.

Scientists are not quite sure what colors the dinosaurs were. They can only guess that the dinosaurs may have been colored to match their surroundings, just as most animals are today.

Did the Earth become too cold for the dinosaurs? Maybe prehistoric mammals took the dinosaur eggs from the nests.

Stegosaurus means “roofed lizard.” This plant-eating dinosaur was about the size of a school bus and had two rows of bony plates along its back.

Have you ever seen a cuddly looking koala? Most people call them koala bears. But koalas aren't bears! In fact, koalas aren't even related to bears. Koalas are mammals called marsupials. Marsupial means “pouched animal.” Koalas carry their babies in pouches just like kangaroos. Koalas are picky eaters. The only food that a koala will eat is eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are found in Australia, so koalas live in Australia. Koalas are “nocturnal” animals, which means that they sleep during the day and are awake at night.

Los loros no solo imitan el habla humana. Estas coloridas y pícaras aves suelen aparearse de por vida y algunas llegan a vivir más de 90 años. Aprende más sobre estas inteligentes aves.

What makes fish great swimmers–and how do they breathe underwater? Different animals use their body in different ways to take in air, food, and water. Learn how fish use gills to take in oxygen from water, much like humans use lungs to breathe in oxygen from the air. Whales, dolphins and sea turtles come up for breath–are they fish? In ocean life, guess which fish have gills and which are not fish!

In 1811, while exploring the cliffs near Lyme Regis, England, 12-year-old Mary Anning made the find of a lifetime. There in the rocks was the skeleton of a strange creature. Mary's find was later named Ichthyosaurus, a reptile that lived more than 250 million years ago. Anning went on to have a long career finding and identifying dinosaur fossils. However, her work often went unrecognized by male scientists of the time, and she received little credit until long after her death. Learn about Mary Anning's perseverance and her important discoveries in paleontology.

Big bodies. Razor-sharp teeth. Crushing jaws. Great white sharks are some of the most feared sharks. Some people say they seek out people as food. But this is a myth. Attacks on people are very rare. Some people say great whites live only in warm waters. This is a myth too! You can’t believe everything you hear! Listeners will bust more myths about these top ocean predators.

How do animals survive in planet Earth's most extreme regions? Snow, ice, and subzero temps make the North and South Poles nearly impossible places to live. But several animals from musk oxen to penguins call these regions home. Find out how their amazing behaviors and body parts have adapted to these harsh conditions.

This book takes a very simple look at the Diplodocus dinosaur, examining what it looked like, what it ate, how it behaved, and its special skills and features such as its very long neck and tail. The book also discusses how we know about Diplodocus today, showing where fossils are found and how scientists put them together.