Lesser Spotted Animals

Lesser Spotted Animals

Juvenile nonfiction
"Bison are banned--we've got the gargantuan gaur instead. And
who needs a grouchy gorilla when you can have the seldom seen
solenodon, with all its noxious slobber. No meek little house mouse
in this book either, just a merciless marsupial mouse that eats little
house mouses.
Discover all the amazing beasts you never knew you needed to
know about, because it's good-bye to the gnu and cheerio to the
cheetah, say hi to the hirola and nice to meet you to the numbat..."
In Lesser Spotted Animals: The Coolest Creatures You've Never
Heard About Martin Brown contends that the celebs of the animal world
have been hogging the stage and book pages far too long. The other
equally cool creatures deserve their fifteen minutes of fame. Among
the ones he introduces readers to are:
*the sand cat (my favorite) which lives in dry desserts in places like
Africa and Asia. They can survive temps ranging from 23 to 131
degrees. They camoflauge themselves so well in the sand it's hard for
people to locate and study them;
*the long tailed dunnart, an Australian creature that looks like a
mouse but is related to the Tasmanian devil and kangaroo. They eat
other animals their size and smaller. Females live twice as long as
males;
*And the tropical forest dwelling dagger-toothed flower bat. They're
about the size of a flying mouse. Although they look like neck
nippers, they nosh on pollen, nectar, and fruit.
These lesser known critters are really fun to learn about. One
might be the inspiration for a truly creative Halloween costume.
On a personal note, yesterday my daughter, Amber, gave me the most
amazing birthday gift possible. She got it at the UMaine craft fair.
It's a hand made blank book I can use as a journal. She knows how I
love to journal. The cover cloth features felines of all tones,
patterns, eye colors... The ages are different colors and textures.
Although most are blank, some have lovely surprises. It's the most
enchanting journal I have ever seen--mine in which to write my
adventures and reflections.
A great big shout out goes out to Amber who gave me such a treasure
and the people who created it so carefully.
jules hathaway


Sent from my iPod