Nature Nonfiction

Few people get to meet their dogs on the dog’s actual first birthday. Most of us missed the day our puppy opened her eyes, the first sweet sounds she made, or watching her learn to walk, bark, and play with her siblings. But the dog scientist Alexandra Horowitz got to. She met a litter of newborn pups, and traces their journey through their first year of life.

Black bear claws latch onto bark as they climb up trees. Find out these beautiful bears' life cycle, diet, and habits in their woodland home.

Learn about dogs and their puppies.

Listen and relive the exciting tales from Highlights, now on audio! Learn how and why pinecones protect and release seeds and about how wind and water have shaped desert sandstone into giant rock formations, along with other stories about science and scientists.

Animals have unique skills to live, find food or escape becoming a predator’s meal! Animals that live in snowy places have athletic skills like strength need to compete in Winter Olympics sports. The snow leopard can leap 30 feet high and run fast! Seals can glide across the ice on their bellies like athletes competing in tobogganing. What skills do prairie chickens and red-crowned cranes have?

What is juicy, red and green with white stripes and pops up from the ground ready to eat—watermelon! Their seeds need plenty of water, lots of sun and nutrient rich soil. Follow along as a tiny, black seed bursts into a delicious fruit. Watermelons are ready to be picked when their yellow petals have all fallen. Find out what Bee-u-ti-ful insect helps the watermelon grow?

Terriers were bred to hunt vermin such as rats and badgers. Learn all about these tough, brave dogs and what makes them great hunting companions and loyal friends.

Balto has a quiet life as a sled dog - until tragedy strikes. Dozens of children in Nome become sick with diphtheria. Without antitoxin serum, they will perish - and the closest supply is 650 miles away! The only way to get the serum to Nome is by sled, but can the dogs deliver it in time? Heading bravely into a brutal blizzard, Balto leads the race for life.

T. rex vs. Tyrannotitan? Supersaurus vs. Spinosaurus? Which dinosaurs would win in a deadly prehistoric battle? Find out in the newest edition of the Who Would Win series. In this audiobook, explore the facts and characteristics of 16 different dinosaurs to find out who is the roughest, toughest, and strongest dinosaur! It's a rumble! Listen along with author Jerry Pallotta to find out who would win!

Leatherback sea turtles face one of their lives’ biggest challenges as soon as they’re hatched. Crawling out of their eggs on the sandy shore, they hurry to the sea in a race to escape those who see them as a tasty meal. If they survive and thrive, they can grow longer than an adult male is tall and weigh as much as a small car!

When a forty-seven-foot sailboat disappears in the Gulf Stream in the throes of a disastrous storm, it leaves behind three weary passengers struggling to stay alive. This middle-grade adaptation of an adult nonfiction book tells the story of the four intrepid Coast Guardsmen who braved this ruthless storm in the hopes of saving them. A spellbinding tale of courage and survival from the author of The Finest Hours.

Listen and relive the exciting tales from Highlights, now on audio! Learn why wood frogs make a dangerous journey each spring and how the people of Amherst, Massachusetts, helped spotted salamanders, along with other stories about lizards and amphibians.

Dogs have many abilities, along with being super cute–they have great noses that can sniff out smells that humans can’t!

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?

Did you know some birds can grow thousands of feathers? Find out the different jobs feathers have to help a bird fly. Learn the differences between primary feathers and tail feathers in a bird’s flight.

Birds are easier to hear than they are to see. If you want to encourage more birds to visit your backyard–learn how to build a bird feeder and a bird's nest! What types of birds will you find? Learn two simple ways to help birds live and to observe them in your own backyard!

Have you ever seen a flock of geese flying in the sky? Yo and her grandfather spot lots of geese flying South to escape the winter’s snow and ice. Yo is excited to watch the geese begin their long journey home.

Yo and her mother go outdoors to fill the bird feeders with birdseed. Yo wonders if they should feed wild animals too. What will happen if Yo leaves birdseed out for other animals? Will Yo and her mother decide to feed the other animals?

Have you ever seen a coyote? Coyotes live across North America and have earned quite the reputation as pests. Many people have begun to trap and kill them in order to protect their livestock—but they are fascinating animals with long history and event part of folklore. Learn about the coyote and their special behaviors and abilities!

Yo learns about foods that are poisonous for dogs to eat. Yo and her grandfather learn what the most dangerous human food is for dogs using their computer. How many types of food will Yo and her grandfather find to keep Lips safe?