Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales: Modern Animals, Ancient Animals, and Water - Softcover

Information-packed...lively and conversational... Capable readers with a serious interest in animal science will find it enjoyable and even fascinating.--Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston"School Library Journal" (02/01/2010)

Highly entertaining, engaging and educational.... an absolute must-read! Guaranteed to hook readers on science, and well worthy of purchase.--Gail Hamilton"Canadian Materials" (02/19/2010)

Taking as her starting point the world of water, from which life appeared on Earth, the author of this lively title traces the connections between early fossil records and modern examples of six water-connected species: segmented worms, cephalopods (squids, octopuses, and nautiluses), scorpions, platypus, whales and Canada geese. Like its predecessor, Super Crocs and Monster Wings (2008), this features jazzy typography, colorful backgrounds and plenty of cleanly identified color photographs. Each section includes a page of "Family Ties" and another of "Fun Facts," and between each section a double-page spread explains a more general concept (Plankton, Tides, salts vs. fresh water). Different page designs make it easy to distinguish subjects and sections. Clear descriptions use scientific names, with pronunciation given in context. The "pop" format belies the real science behind this informative offering.

Many intriguing animals appear in this multifaceted explanation of how ancient creatures either evolved into the water-dwelling animals we know today or became extinct... Information-packed text [is] often lively and conversational... Relevant instances of scientific discovery are peppered throughout the text, explaining how we know what we know about these animals. The book features brightly colored, busy pages with sidebars, "Fun Facts," and small full-color photographs rimmed in bold shades. The vivid format has the look of many series books in a miscellany construct though the content is much more substantial... Capable readers with a serious interest in animal science will find it enjoyable and even fascinating.--Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston"School Library Journal" (02/01/2010)

Highly entertaining, engaging and educational, Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales is an absolute must-read! It provides a fascinating look at the development of a variety of species following water's appearance on Earth over three billion years ago... Eamer's almost-conversational writing style draws the reader in... She explains evolutionary concepts in a way that kids will understand, poses questions to make them think, and provides little-known facts that will demonstrate to readers how awesome nature is. The illustrations consist of labeled drawings and colour photographs arranged in an attractive layout... Fun facts for all chapters appear...on purple backgrounds and information on related topics printed on royal blue. A table of contents, an index, and a list of books and a few web sites for further study are included. Guaranteed to hook readers on science, and well worthy of purchase, Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales definitely has the "wow" factor! Highly Recommended.--Gail Hamilton"Canadian Materials" (02/19/2010)

The cover will attract boys' attention and other fans of creepy insects.--Kristiin Fletcher-Spear"VOYA" (06/01/2010)