Nature Mysteries

Get up close and personal with an amazing creature that has invaded our lexicon as well as our restaurants. It breathes with tubes, it has no head or brain, it feeds through a filter, and it is the source of dozens of familiar proverbs ("happy as a clam!"). Clams, it turns out, have been worshipped (by the Moche people of ancient Peru), used as money (by the Algonquin Indians), and consumed by people for thousands of years.

Do crocodiles really cry? Why do fireflies glow in the dark? What is the rhino’s horn made of? Why does the hare eat its own droppings? Collaborate with authors Arefa and Raza H. Tehsin on their mission as wildlife detectives to find out what really happens out in the wild, and why animals behave the way they do.

Gordon Korman knows the types of books kids like to read, considering he published his first novel at the ripe old age of 12. Since then, his unique brand of offbeat humor has helped him become a New York Times best-selling author. In this third tale featuring Griffin “The Man with the Plan” Bing, a tough new principal gets on Griffin’s last nerve, and the feeling is mutual. When a valuable ring is stolen from a school display case, Griffin realizes he’s been framed for the crime.

Katie’s new puppy, Koko, has run away, and now the white doggie is lost! Pedro and Katie pair up to investigate. They are hot on Koko’s trail, but some clues lead nowhere. Still the detectives won’t give up.

The Aldens have promised Grandfather a vacation from mysteries during their island visit. But the promise proves hard to keep when things start to go missing. Then an old fisherman tells Benny of the island’s ghost horse, and late that very night Benny sees a mysterious stallion galloping down the beach. Could the ghost horse have something to do with the disappearances?

Hank is in real trouble this time. Loper and Sally May's relatives are coming for Christmas dinner, and Sally May has been working to get the entire ranch in order - including preparing for the Christmas feast. Unfortunately, when she discovers that the turkey she bought has met a terrible end, she pins the blame on Hank! Is he the guilty party, or have more sinister forces been at work to frame him for the crime?

It all starts with a school essay. Twelve-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, and she’s not sure where to begin: When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended to Earth, and aliens - called the Boov - abducted her mother?

The Chicken Squad prides themselves on being ready for anything. Marshmallow life preserves? Check. Copious bags of jellybeans for a car ride? Check. Storm shelter? Storm shelter! They need a storm shelter in case there is ever a storm. So Sugar takes it upon himself to build one in the yard. But it turns out it's not big enough for everyone. And the big dig has unearthed some mysterious surprises.

It is five days until Christmas, and Winston has a Very Curious Mystery to solve. He has hazy rememberings of another mouse, and he just knows that someone very important to him is lost. After promising Oliver that he will be back in time for Christmas, no matter what, Winston sets out on an exciting round-the-world adventure to find the missing mouse, helped along the way by wonderful old friends and delightful new ones, too.

Twelve-year-old Epic McDade isn't ready for middle school. He'd rather help out at his family's dog-friendly bed-and-breakfast all summer or return to his alternative elementary school in the fall, where learning feels safe. But change comes in all shapes and fur colors. When Carmelito, California, is named America's number one dog-friendly town, all the top dogs and their owners pour into Epic's sleepy seaside neighborhood for a week of celebration.

It's all fun and games until somebody ends up in the pound. It's been a busy few days for the Head of Ranch Security, what with routine patrols and not-so-routine combat with headless monsters. When the dust settles, Hank decides to take a break from duty and visit his sister in town.

The boxcar children are trying to track down a dinosaur-bone thief! But another set of tracks in a cave leads to a whole new mystery....

It's roundup time, and Hank the Cowdog is ready to strut his stuff. So what's Benny - a world-class cattle dog with the papers to prove it - doing at the ranch? As Head of Ranch Security, Hank knows it's his job to find out. But what Hank learns isn't easy to swallow. Benny has been brought in to take his place in the roundup!

Hank learns about a tool thief on the loose who uses a monkey to help him do his dirty work. And before long, Hank finds himself face-to-face with the pilfering primate! Can Hank help to stop the criminals in their tracks, or will the crooks make a monkey out of the Head of Ranch Security?

Lost: one little boy. When Little Alfred runs away from home and winds up in the Dark Unchanted Forest being trailed by a bobcat, Hank the Cowdog knows that it's up to him to save his young master. So, mustering up all the courage that a Head of Ranch Security can come up with, he bravely makes his way into the forest.

The Boxcar Children are spending their vacation on a farm. They learn to do everything from milking cows and making homemade jam to raising a barn. Then one day they spot a beautiful horse locked up in a stable. Who is the mystery horse? And why is it hidden?

Lost in a dark, spooky forest! So I sought shelter in a crumbling old mansion. But I quickly discovered that it was haunted - by cats!

There's been a brutal murder on the ranch, and it's up to Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, to conduct the investigation. The only problem is no one's talking. After a dangerous fact-finding mission, Hank thinks he knows who the guilty party is.

A backpack full of jewels has fallen out of a plane! Was it just an accident? The Boxcar Children need to find out what happened!

In this compelling narrative, O'Connor seeks out neuroscientists, anthropologists and master navigators to understand how navigation ultimately gave us our humanity. Biologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how organisms have the ability to migrate and orient with such precision - especially since our own adventurous ancestors spread across the world without maps or instruments. O'Connor goes to the Arctic, the Australian bush and the South Pacific to talk to masters of their environment who seek to preserve their traditions at a time when anyone can use a GPS to navigate.