Animal Science

Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so - and Aldwyn is happy to play along. He just has to convince the other familiars - the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert - that he's the powerful cat he claims to be. Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia!

At her famous Kite's Nest Farm in Worcestershire, England, the cows (as well as sheep, hens, and pigs) all roam free. They make their own choices about rearing, grazing, and housing. Left to be themselves, the cows exhibit temperaments and interests as diverse as our own. "Fat Hat" prefers men to women; "Chippy Minton" refuses to sleep with muddy legs and always reports to the barn for grooming before bed; "Jake" has a thing for sniffing the carbon monoxide fumes of the Land Rover exhaust pipe; and "Gemima" greets all humans with an angry shake of the head and is fiercely independent.

Maurice, an amazing cat who has survived four years on the toughest streets in the whole of the Discworld, reckons that rats are dumb - clever, OK, but dumb. Maurice, however, is smart, smart enough to recognize that there's a new kind of rat around: rats who have been eating wizards' rubbish and can now talk. Smart enough to get a pretty amazing idea when he spots a stupid-looking kid playing the flute....Now Maurice has his very own "plague of rats" and his own Pied Piper.

Who's that hiding in the tree? It's a panda! Listen to learn more about giant pandas.

It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in America - even more than when they were the only means of transportation - and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she began riding horses when she was just two years old and hasn’t stopped since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to these graceful animals and the people who - like her - are obsessed with them.

Rose is the youngest of seven children, meant to replace her dead sister. Maybe because of that, she’s never really fit in. She’s always felt different, out of place, a restless wanderer in a family of homebodies. So when an enormous white bear mysteriously shows up and asks her to come away with him - in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family - she readily agrees. Rose travels on the bear’s broad back to a distant and empty castle, where she is nightly joined by a mysterious stranger.

In the beginning, Byx’s original quest was to discover if there were more of her kind or if she was destined to become an endling - the last dairne alive. She did indeed find more dairnes, and along the way she also created allies among other creatures in her world, including humans, felivets, raptidons, and wobbyks. But Byx and her new friends soon learned that it wasn’t just dairnes in jeopardy of extinction, but that everyone was at risk. With the world in unprecedented danger, Byx must rally creatures of all kinds to lead a revolution.

If you love to learn about dinosaurs, you might want to consider becoming a paleontologist. A paleontologist studies the remains of prehistoric life. They study why fossils form and why the animals and plants lived where they did.

Strange things are happening at the frozen edge of the world. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan have crisscrossed Erdas in their quest to stop the ruthless Conquerors. Only the four of them, supported by the gifts of their legendary spirit animals, have the power to defeat an evil takeover. While chasing down a lead in the cold North, the heroes arrive at a quiet village where not everything is as it seems. Rooting the truth out of this deceptively beautiful place won't be easy - and the team is already out of time. The Conquerors are right behind them.

Ash was warned, and she tried to be careful, but with the Purple Sky magicians hunting her to carry out Lathia's vendetta, there were only so many options open to her. The magic awakening in her blood and breaking free of the binding spells of her enemies made her even more vulnerable to trouble. And attractive to new allies and new enemies.

Find out all about scales and how they help snakes and other animals move, stay safe and survive. Discover how scales are different on different animals and how they change as snakes and reptiles grow up.

Hippos are one of the largest land mammals in the world! These big vegetarians prefer to spend their time in the water. Listeners will enjoy learning all they can about hippos.

From his childhood love of animals, through his training and first steps in the profession and the pressures and challenges faced by vets, dealing with unexpected exotic pets - and handling excitable humans too - Julian Norton has seen all sides of the veterinary world and writes about it all with humour and affection. Just as happy calving a cow, treating a dehydrated chameleon or tending to the overgrown teeth of a rabbit, his passion for his work shines through in every chapter.

What does it take to raise a great dog? This was the question that husband-and-wife team Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods hoped to answer when they enrolled one hundred and one puppies in the Duke Puppy Kindergarten. With the help of a retired service dog named Congo, Brian, Vanessa, and their team set out to understand the secrets of the puppy mind: What factors might predict whether a puppy will grow up to change someone’s life?

Despite her name, Clover has always felt decidedly unlucky. So when she stumbles upon a mysterious cottage in the woods, she can hardly believe her good fortune. It's the Magical Animal Adoption Agency, and it houses creatures of all kinds. Fairy horses, unicorns, and a fiery young dragon are just the beginning! Mr. Jams, the agency's owner, agrees to hire her as a summer helper and Clover hopes her luck has finally changed. But when she's left alone to care for the agency, a sneaky witch comes after the magical creatures! Will Clover outsmart her in time to protect the animals?

Have you ever wondered how a river forms, which animals live near rivers, or where those rivers lead? Rivers are a vital part of life and the ecosystem. Rivers help transport water to humans and animals as well. It can also be used to create energy. Water from rivers can end up in many different places downstream!

Follow along with this class as they explore a creek near their school in Pennsylvania! They want to learn about the water and its ecosystem, so they perform a survey to determine its quality and biota. What do you think they will find?

A poor fisherman named Isak struggles to take care of his family. Even so, he always shares a small portion of his catch with the three black cormorants that lead him to good fishing spots. Isak's kindness is richly rewarded when the cormorants guide him to Utrøst, a lush and magical land under the sea.

Cece’s parents say she was born curious. She asks: Why? How? What if? When her teacher, Ms. Curie, assigns a science project, Cece knows just what to ask - do dogs eat vegetables? She teams up with her best friend, Isaac, and her dog, Einstein, to discover the answer. They investigate, research, collect data, and analyze, using Einstein as their case study. Their final conclusion is surprising - and a lot of fun!

A Zoo in My Luggage is the colorful, first-hand account of Gerald Durrell's six-month animal-collecting trip in British Cameroon, and his attempts to create his own zoo. Motivated by a passion for wildlife, and a desire to save endangered species from extinction, Durrell assembles a glorious panoply of exotic animals - including a female baboon called Georgina, who later runs amok in a department store; a black-eared squirrel, who tries to bury nuts in his ear; and a gentlemanly chimpanzee named Chumly, who greets him with an outstretched hand.