Nature Mysteries

A new Pete the Cat mystery in paperback for the first time! Alex and his friends witness a pig falling from a speeding red truck. Working with the police and an animal rescue group, the kids get permission to keep the pig. But after a local TV station runs a story about the rescue, the angry truck driver shows up at Alex's house, determined to take the pig to slaughter. Who is this man? What is he hiding? Pete uses his skills to solve the mystery but, as usual, his humans don't understand. When the dangerous situation turns deadly, can Pete save himself?

Welcome back to the charming Goat House Market in Dogwood Dale, North Carolina, where the scent of fresh bread and blooming flowers mingle with the whisper of local legends. This time, soapmaker Beatrice Thistle finds her curiosity piqued by talk of a philosopher's stone—not one of gold, but of wisdom. When a troubled young man seeks guidance, cryptic clues begin to surface, and Bea embarks on a gentle quest through Dogwood Dale's history and the wisdom of the natural world. With the help of the market's intriguing herbalist, Juniper, and the cryptic recollections of the town's historian,...

Welcome to Backyard County, Mississippi—where the dirt is rich, the compost is gourmet, and the worms are smarter than they look. Meet Riley the Red Worm, a scrappy, sharp-witted underdog who just wants peace, quiet, and a prime spot in the compost heap. But when the legendary Night Crawler Nate slithers in from Fisher’s County with charm, muscle, and a mysterious agenda, Riley finds himself in the middle of the squirmiest showdown the soil has ever seen. With an all-star cast of bug buddies, a moldy villain threatening the entire garden, and a secret human experiment creeping closer ...

When there's a bank robbery in the country village where Djuna lives, and one of his dog's best friends gets shot in the escape, the boy makes up his mind he'll find out who did it. His chum and his dog, Champ, are in on the hunt, and two heads and a keen nose are better than one. The boys remember something queer they noticed about a truck with a covered load that passed them on the road when they were going fishing.

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.

Beware of avalanches! When the magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie back in time to the highest pass in the Swiss Alps, they discover an ancient monastery filled with monks and Saint Bernard dogs. Annie can’t resist offering to train a wild young dog named Barry, but he is quite the handful! Before the night is over, Jack and Annie will be forced to use some crazy magic!

Basil the mouse detective is called to Paris when the organizers of the Great Cheese Cook-off (an international culinary competition) start receiving threats against the event. Who could want to deprive all of mousedom of one of its tastiest nights? Basil immediately suspects Ratigan, who has escaped yet again and was seen lurking around Paris, and sets off on his investigation at the event’s location, the Parisian College of Cooking. But Basil is baffled when circumstantial evidence shows that it couldn’t have been his old enemy after all.

Hank runs into a dispute with a giant bullfrog over the Emerald Pond. Then, there's a battle with a...well, let's just say a monster. It's too scary to even tell what kind of monster it is! However, things get really tough when Hank is entrusted with the job of guarding Little Alfred's soon-to-be prize winning chicks.

Detectives Sal and Iggy have a new case—find the stolen diamond from the museum! Together, they must find the thief and return the diamond. Who can be the buggy culprit? Was it the security guard firefly? One of the bees at the nearby party? These two reptiles need to use the evidence left at the scene to solve the mystery!

A historical fiction book set in Ridgewood, The Carolinas, during the late 19th century. Join Tom Cooke, Sam Thackeray, and Henry Black on a captivating adventure as they navigate the perils and delights of summer in a small coastal town grappling with a yellow fever outbreak. Stranded at Tom's uncle's remote coastal home, the boys find themselves on an unexpected journey of friendship, discovery, and resilience as they explore the untamed beauty of the shores of Ridgewood. After arriving to stay with Uncle Harrison and Aunt Helen, who are away on a long trip, Tom and his friends seek ...

Sea monsters have a long history in lore and literature. Homer first wrote of them in 700 BCE. What Do We Know About the Kraken? lets curious young listeners explore what we actually know about this mysterious sea monster's long history. Dive into the facts behind this massive squid-like creature that was first described using the word "Kraken" in the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Fascinated by the stunning Appalachian Trail landscapes? Craving a challenging adventure? Longing to disconnect from life's stress? If you answered "Yes," discover one of America's most beautiful, varied, and culturally significant landscapes.

Basil the mouse detective sets off on a journey to solve one of the greatest mysteries of mousedom: Do miniature cats exist? Leading mouse scientists aren't certain, but they believe answers can be found in the Far East. Thus begins the story of an unusual quest. As Basil sets sail for the Far East - and the lost island of Kataarh - danger stalks him at every turn. Our hero is determined to unravel the mystery of these mini cats and their mouse king!

Kristen Stevenson, owner of the Nature Station, is excited to welcome her first guests to the Nature Station’s newest addition—the recently renovated Corncrib. The new living quarters are shipshape, but once guests arrive for a weekend retreat, things begin to go awry—and in a big way when a body is found after dinner the first night. When Kristen and her friends start showering retreat guests with questions to determine if one of them is the culprit, they discover more than they bargain for. Is the murderer one of the guests or someone much closer to home? As Kristen tiptoes through ...

Welcome to the bone chilling, pulse-pounding world of PIGGY, the survival-horror game that will keep you up at night. With the Infected hot on their heels and growing in number, a small band of survivors must come together and try to stop their island from being overrun. But is there really a cure for whatever is turning people into mindless monsters? Or are they too late to save anyone at all?

Every shadow hides a secret, and every whisper is a potential threat. I’m an enchantress, who’s stuck with an insufferable wolf shifter. An unsettling dark power threatens to consume the town of Ravensgate. We're plunged into a web of deceit, rituals, and rogue magic practitioners. Working together isn't a choice—it's a necessity. But as our battles force us together, I'm torn between our burning animosity and our burning passions. To save Ravensgate, we must combat our enemies and our own desires, but if we falter, the darkness will claim us all. Do we have the strength to face the ...

Without a mom and with her dad busy running the museum, Liberty Jacobs was practically raised by the tarantulas, leopard geckos, and rare butterflies of the Walnut Street Insectarium. She loves being the resident “Bug Girl,” but unless Liberty and her dad can snag a big investor, they’ll lose the museum, their home, and the funding Liberty needs to launch her dream business: a butterfly release program called Life & Liberty. The investor meeting is a week away, but there’s a big problem: Liberty has reason to suspect there’s going to be a "buglary" of the museum’s rarest animals.

When Hank hears a rumor that the sky is going to fall from the ranch's resident rooster, he is naturally a bit skeptical. But then a report from Pete the Barncat and a strange dream seem to support the theory, and Hank realizes that he'd better take the threat seriously. After all, as Head of Ranch Security, it's his job to protect the ranch from any and all potential danger.

From the swamplands near Bishopville, South Carolina, come reports of a seven-foot-tall, scaly humanoid creature the locals call the “Lizard Man”. Over the years, the creature has been seen by numerous witnesses, including a teenager who claimed it attacked him one night near a remote area called Scape Ore Swamp. The young man’s testimony and physical evidence was so compelling, it not only launched a serious investigation by the local sheriff’s office, but an all-out monster hunt that drew hundreds of people to the small town.

Life innovates constantly, producing perfectly adapted species—but there's a catch. Many animals and plants eke out seemingly unremarkable lives. Passive, constrained, modest, threatened. Then, in a blink of evolutionary time, they flourish spectacularly. Once we start to look, these 'sleeping beauties' crop up everywhere. But why? Looking at the book of life, from apex predators to keystone crops, and informed by his own cutting-edge experiments, renowned scientist Andreas Wagner demonstrates that innovations can come frequently and cheaply to nature, well before they are needed.