Zany Brainy Animals: How Animals Defend Themselves
Explore the ingenious and funny behaviours found in the animal kingdom.
To survive in the animal kingdom, creatures big and small have developed clever and sometimes surprising ways to stay alive. Find out how tarantulas shoot arrow-like hairs from their bum when threatened or how the pearlfish hides inside a sea cucumber's bum to escape predators. When it comes to survival, anything goes!
Written expert author Dr Ashley Ward, associate professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney, Australia, this humorous four-book series explores a wide range of animal behaviours from survival skills and animal communication to how animals learn and adapt to live in the most extreme environments.
The Zany Brainy Animals series combines funny and fascinating facts about the animal kingdom and include behind the scenes stories in the 'Tales from the lab' panels about how scientists discover and study the featured animal behaviours. The amusing text covers key science topics such as adaptations, evolution and habitats.
This series isn't just a catalogue of fascinating animal facts. By including the process in which we've found them out this series aims to inspire readers to pursue careers in the field.
Perfect for reader 6+.
Dr. Ashley Ward is a professor of animal behaviour at the University of Sydney, where his research focusses on the social behaviour of animals including krill, fish, birds and mammals. He is the author of the popular science book for adults, The Social Lives of Animals.
Andy Rowland (Illustrator)
Andy has always loved drawing; one of his earliest memories is of his dad bringing home reams of scrap paper from the printers for him to use because he went through so much. Eventually he went on to study Illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University, where, during his second year he won the Macmillan prize for the design and illustration of a children's book. Since then he has worked freelance, mainly on children's books, illustrating over one hundred books. He has also worked artistically in the voluntary sector as well as mural work, portraiture, printed products and surface pattern design. Andy lives in Greater Manchester, England, with his partner and two children.