By: Dawn Cusick / Photographs from: National Wildlife Federation

Wow! You won’t believe what these animals can do!

For more than forty-five years, the National Wildlife Federation has been dazzling families with amazing images and stories. Get ready to be amazed by animals that will make you say WOW! Discover jet propulsion in squid and dragonflies, camouflage in cuttlefish and katydids, photosynthesis in salamanders and sea slugs, vocal sacs in frogs, balance in giraffes and spider monkeys, and antennae fencing in crickets.

Want more? How about spiders that use air bubbles like gills, skunks that eat bees, sea slugs that steal stinging cells from jellyfish, bower birds that build sparkling nests, and jawfish that brood eggs in their mouths!

This book celebrates fascinating facts about animals from all over the world with one-of-a-kind photographs from the National Wildlife Federation archives.

Official book of the National Wildlife Federation, dedicated to protecting all earth’s creatures.

If you like this book, youll enjoy these:
Animals That Make Me Say OUCH!

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Look Inside

Author & Illustrator

Dawn Cusick, author

Dawn Cusick enjoys making science education fun for both kids and adults. Dawn writes award-winning children’s nature nonfiction books. She holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Florida, a certificate of post-Baccalaureate Major in Biology from the University of North Carolina-Asheville, and a Masters of Science in Biology from Western Carolina University. Her research work involves species’ recognition and speciation in cryptic katydids. She teaches general biology and zoology courses at Haywood Community College.

Read more about Dawn.

National Wildlife Federation, illustrator

The National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest wildlife conservation and education organization, is dedicated to “inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.” It is also home to the award-winning Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick, Jr. magazines and apps.

Read more about the National Wildlife Federation.

Awards & Honors

• 2015 NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Cusick explores how gravity-defying flight, coiled and tubelike tongues, bite-proof armor and other surprising adaptations in animal bodies and behavior provide a competitive edge.

This presentation of amazing animal facts is loosely organized into three sections: defense, foraging and anatomy. There’s a short introduction for each section followed by a series of boxed explanations interspersed among a gallery of close-up photographs, mostly from the National Wildlife Federation archives. Some images are quite wonderful: a family of cygnets riding a swan’s back, a porcupine chewing on a branch, an unidentified moth with a coiled tongue. Others are really too small to see details well. Some images are clearly labeled with the creature’s name; others can be guessed from the nearby text, but some will be mysteries (perhaps better than the “great egret” caption for the snowy egret picture). Readers are asked some thought-provoking questions as well as offered cool facts. Scavenger-hunt challenges in the concluding section call for both inside and outside research. A companion volume, Animals That Make Me Say OUCH!, follows the same format, but its third section deals with adaptations for hostile environments. Both titles feature lively, colorful design.

Best for browsers who like their facts fast.

School Library Journal

(For Animals That Make Me Say OUCH! and Animals That Make Me Say WOW!)
These two animal-focused nature books will make kids sit up and take notice. The attractive photos from the National Wildlife Federation show bald eagles performing acrobatics in mid-air; zebras delivering a swift kick, leaving lion predators in their dust; shape-shifting spiders; and a South American male frigate bird with a bright red “bubble chin.” The upbeat, accessible text is factual and entertaining, including funny headers and the occasional joke (“What’s worse than a jaw of sharp, curved teeth? Two jaws, that’s what!”). Each installment contains practicable “Scavenger Hunt” ideas to cultivate scientific observation skills. While younger students will love the vivid photos, older ones will appreciate the informative material. Solid wildlife overviews.

Downloadables

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Details

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-041-8

E-book
ISBN: 978-1-60734-573-2 EPUB
ISBN: 978-1-60734-647-0 PDF

Ages: 7-10
Page count: 80
8 x 10

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