Animal Science

SkyClan has returned to its rightful place among the other four warrior Clans, hoping to find a new territory to call home. But not every cat is convinced this is where SkyClan belongs - and the fate of all five warrior Clans remains uncertain.

In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman - chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field - gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease.

Why do mandrills have blue faces? What makes a parrot's feathers so bright? Learn these answers and more about some of nature’s most colorful creatures in Science Behind the Colors.

The first great battle has ended, and each group has agreed to a truce. But merely keeping the peace may not guarantee their survival. When a deadly disease threatens to strike deep into the heart of both camps, the cats must work together to find the only thing that can save them - the mysterious Blazing Star....

When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.

Why are some cats cuddly and others standoffish? Why are some dogs adventuresome, others homebodies? As any pet owner can attest, we feel that the animals we've formed bonds with are unique, as particular (and peculiar) as any human friend or loved one. Recent years have brought an increased understanding of animal intelligence and emotion. But is there a scientific basis for animal personality and individuality, or is this notion purely sentimental?

One hundred and fifty years ago, the first dinosaurs were cloned. Soon after, they replaced humans at the top of the food chain. The only way to survive was to move into underground compounds.... Five years ago, Sky Mundy's father vanished from North Compound without a trace. Now she has just stumbled on a clue that not only suggests his disappearance is just the tip of an even larger mystery but also points directly to the surface. To find her dad - and possibly even save the world - Sky and her best friend, Shawn, must break out of their underground home and venture topside.

When Charles Darwin finished The Origin of Species, he thought that he had explained every clue but one. Though his theory could explain many facts, Darwin knew that there was a significant event in the history of life that his theory did not explain. During this event, the "Cambrian explosion", many animals suddenly appeared in the fossil record without apparent ancestors in earlier layers of rock. In Darwin's Doubt, Stephen C. Meyer tells the story of the mystery surrounding this explosion of animal life.

In this super edition, set during the events of The Broken Code, respected ThunderClan warrior Graystripe seeks a path to the Clan’s future by returning to his past - and the Moonstone in the Clans’ old forest territory. Graystripe served ThunderClan for many moons before retiring to the elders’ den. As Firestar’s most trusted friend and deputy, Graystripe promised that he would never abandon his home. But as tensions strain ThunderClan, Graystripe will need to call on all of his long history, leaving ThunderClan behind in hopes of finding an answer that might save it.

When the outlaw clan of foxes, weasels, stoats, and other vermin led by vicious ferret Sawney Rath kidnaps an infant otter of Redwall to serve as their Taggerung - a fierce warrior who no beast can stand against in battle - they have no idea what they're getting into. Trained in all the deadly arts and able to outfight, outrun, and outthink any clanbeast, the Taggerung grows up with only one slight peculiarit.

Ten years have passed on Tines World, where Ravna Bergnsdot and a number of human children ended up after a disaster that nearly obliterated humankind throughout the galaxy. Ravna and the pack animals for which the planet is named have survived a war, and Ravna has saved more than one hundred children who were in cold-sleep aboard the vessel that brought them. While there is peace among the Tines, there are those among them - and among the humans - who seek power. And no matter the cost, these malcontents are determined to overturn the fledgling civilization....

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.

When you enter the world of James Herriot's Animal Stories, you'll share his wonder and humor, his adventures and misadventures as he contends with pet owners and landowners; rough-spoken farmers and soft-spoken gentry; orphaned lambs, litters of piglets and puppies, cattle and draught horses; and a miscellany of cats and dogs including, of course, Mrs. Pumphrey's inimitable Pekinese, Tricki Woo.

For generations, rats have run the mice out of whatever lands they've claimed, keeping them constantly on the move. But now the mice are disappearing, and the young queen Luxa, who credits them with saving her life, is determined to find out why. Gregor joins her on a fact-finding mission, and when the true fate of the mice is revealed, it is something far more sinister than Gregor or Luxa have imagined.

While the good creatures of Redwall Abbey relax during the hot summer, the mountain stronghold of Salamandastron is under siege. Ferhago the Assassin and his band of vicious weasels throw all their fury against Lord Urthstripe the Strong, Badger Lord of Fire Mountain and ruler of Salamandastron. When a lightning bolt uncovers the sword of Martin the Warrior, young Samkin begins an adventure that leads him toward the battle...and toward the ultimate triumph of good.

As the snow melts and the spring approaches, the animal kingdom awakens. In Summer World, Bernd Heinrich, the best-selling author of Winter World, brings us an up-close and personal view of that awakening and rebirth.

Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. At least until her brother is abducted by a murder of crows and taken to the Impassable Wilderness, a dense, tangled forest on the edge of Portland. No one’s ever gone in – or at least returned to tell of it. So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend, Curtis, deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval - a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions.

Griffin is just a newborn bat when he falls through an underground fissure into the most dangerous of all places, the Underworld - the land of the dead. Though his father, the heroic Shade, will try to rescue him, Griffin bravely sets off on his own adventure to find the Tree that will take him home. Will he make it? This companion to Silverwing and Sunwing is mesmerizing, full of extraordinary details and vibrant imagery.

The magic tree house has returned, and it's taking Jack and Annie back in time to Alaska, 1925. There they meet Balto, a jet-black Siberian husky destined to save victims of the diphtheria epidemic. But the trail isn't easy, and Balto is going to need Jack and Annie's help!

When a storm-tossed river sweeps Ripple away from the park he’s always known, he commits himself to the life of a peaceful loner. Still, as his new island home starts to become a sanctuary for other rogues, he can’t help but feel responsible for their safety, and for the community—and Clan—they are beginning to build. But when an old friend from the park resurfaces with terrible news just as the forest cats’ fights begin to escalate into bloodshed, the cat now known as Riverstar will have to decide which home he is truly committed to protecting: his new Clan or his old family.