Nature Nonfiction

Could griffins have been real? When Adrienne Mayor carefully read the ancient Greek and Roman descriptions, this mythic hybrid of a lion and an eagle sounded like something people had actually seen. What could explain that evidence? After a decade of hunting through myths, poring over old maps, and tracing the discoveries of modern dinosaur hunters, she found the answer: awesome dinosaur fossils observed by ancient gold hunters in the Gobi desert.

A well-trained dog is welcome almost anywhere. Discover the secrets of teaching good manners to your dog.

Newly reintroduced along with his pack to Yellowstone National Park, Wolf 8 struggles at first. Small and bullied by his siblings, he must learn to fend for himself in his new home, learning to hunt, compete for food, and even stand up to a grizzly bear 10 times his size. One day, little 8 meets an alpha female raising a litter of pups on her own. Her mate was killed by humans. Can little 8 rise to the occasion and help the young family survive? Is he ready to be an alpha wolf?

The Komodo Dragon is the world’s largest lizard! Listeners will learn all about this real-life dragon that roams only a few small islands on Earth.

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.

Did you know there are over 400 different species of sharks? Did you know they have been on Earth much longer than humans, and even lived before the dinosaurs? Here you'll learn all about these fearsome kings of the ocean, including their eating habits and the basics of their anatomy. Sharks come in many sizes, from under a foot long to over 40 feet - and that's not even counting the long-extinct, 60-foot-long Megalodon shark. And while some have been known to bite people, they are usually quite content to hunt other sea creatures.

Chew some grass. Flick a tail. Cows are at home on the farm.

Presenting turtles, lizards, snakes, alligators, and crocodiles! Not only will kids discover basic topics such as habitat, anatomy, and diet, but they'll also be treated to close-up looks at Komodo dragons and the SuperCroc—all written in a clear, concise way.

When a group of meerkats live together, it's called a mob. Learn about life inside a mob of meerkats and why these animals like to stick together. Find out how living together with others helps meerkats raise their young, stay safe, and find food.

Ladybird Audio Adventures is an original series for 4-to 7-year-olds; a new, entertaining and engaging way for children to learn about the world around them. These are special stories written exclusively for audio with fun sound and musical effects, perfect for listening at home, before bed and on long journeys. These fact-filled journeys travel through time and space teaching children all about five fascinating topics: Dinosaur Times, The Animal Kingdom, Outer Space, Amazing Vehicles and Deep Sea Dive.

Extraordinary Elephants: There's so much more to elephants than their enormous size! Have you heard about their excellent memory or their adorable sense of humour? Did you know that they actually walk on their tippy toes? And wait till you see who their cousins are – you're in for a surprise! Jiggliest Jellyfish: Did you know that jellyfish can thrive in waters that would suffocate other sea creatures? Or that some jellyfish can flash different colours from purple to green? Or that they have the world's most powerful venom?

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.

With three hearts and blue blood, its gelatinous body unconstrained by jointed limbs or gravity, the octopus seems to be an alien, an inhabitant of another world. It’s baggy, boneless body sprouts eight arms covered with thousands of suckers—suckers that can taste as well as feel. The octopus also has the powers of a superhero: it can shape-shift, change color, squirt ink, pour itself through the tiniest of openings, or jet away through the sea faster than a swimmer can follow.

Zip! Something darts through the air. It’s a dragonfly! Young listeners will get the fast facts on these speedy insects, including their body parts, habitats, and life cycles. Along the way, they also will uncover surprising and fascinating facts!

When Jennifer Doudna was a sixth grader in Hilo, Hawaii, she came home from school one afternoon and found a book on her bed. It was The Double Helix, James Watson’s account of how he and Francis Crick had discovered the structure of DNA, the spiral-staircase molecule that carries the genetic instruction code for all forms of life. This book guided Jennifer Doudna to focus her studies not on DNA, but on what seemed to take a backseat in biochemistry: figuring out the structure of RNA, a closely related molecule that enables the genetic instructions coded in DNA to express themselves.

Hi, there! I'm a monarch butterfly. You’ve probably seen me fluttering around, but have you ever stopped to think about where I came from? Learn more about my life cycle and how I went from a tiny little caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly.

Even before it was named, the Bermuda Triangle - roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico - had gained a mythic reputation. The Bermuda Triangle became famous for making boats and ships vanish and for snatching planes right out of the sky. But are these stories true? And if they are true, is there a more sensible reason that refutes the bad karma of the region? With so many mystifying events to learn about, readers will love disappearing into this story.

Capybaras are at home on land and in the water. Learn about these round-bodied rodents and their habitats in Capybaras.

For the hungry young mountain lion living high in Olympic National Park, it is time to follow the elk and the deer who are migrating down-mountain to the rain forests of Washington State. It is also time for the young lion to find a mate. In Thirteen Moons - a spellbinding wildlife series - Newbery Award-winning author Jean Craighead George has captured 13 North American animals in their natural environments and chronicled their fight for survival.

Squeal! Guinea pigs make fun pets. Some have long hair and some have almost no hair at all. Some have crests on their heads and others have droopy ears. Young listeners will learn about the appearance and behavior of guinea pigs, and discover why these playful rodents make great pets.