Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals Are Big and Little Animals Are Little (Animal Science) - Softcover

Davies, Nicola

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1406357472 ISBN 13: 9781406357479

Publisher: Walker Books, 1714

Synopsis

Exciting new edition of one of the six books in zoologist Nicola Davies' fascinating Animal Science series - the best biology series ever! An exciting new edition of one of the six books in zoologist Nicola Davies' fascinating Animal Science series - the best biology series ever! Why are some animals big, some wide, some small and others long and thin? This informative natural history book, wittily illustrated by Neal Layton, explains all about how animals fit in to their environment and why, big, wide, small, long or thin, they are all just the right size.

About this title

About the Author:

Nicola Davies is an award-winning author, whose many books for children include The Promise, A First Book of Nature, Tiny, which won the 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science's prize for Excellence in Science (picture book category), Big Blue Whale, Dolphin Baby and The Lion Who Stole My Arm. She graduated in zoology, studied whales and bats and then worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. Nicola lives in Abergavenny, Wales. Visit Nicola at www.nicola-davies.com. Neal Layton is an award-winning artist who has illustrated more than sixty books for children, including the other titles in the Animal Science series. He also writes and illustrates his own books, such as The Story of Everything and The Mammoth Academy series. Visit Neal at www.neallayton.co.uk/

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4–8—This unique title uses geometry to discuss the varying strengths and capabilities of different animals. In a chatty tone, Davies starts off by describing the strict rules that control what bodies can and cannot do. She goes on to explain how the strongest animals are much smaller than humans. "Some important features of bodies—like how much food and air they need—depend on volume and weight. Others—like the strength of muscles—depend on cross section or surface area." This is the basis for the BTLT (Big Thing, Little Thing) Rule: "If you DOUBLE the length of something, its surface area and cross section go up FOUR times, while its volume and weight go up EIGHT times!" BTLT is used throughout to explain why humans cannot fly, yet Arctic terns can travel 20,000 miles every year from pole to pole and back again. Humans cannot lift buses, but the rhinoceros beetle can lift 850 times its own weight. The author uses clear language and engaging examples throughout. Cartoon illustrations add humor and clarity to the book. A handy introduction to animal sizes.—Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
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About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Books
• Publication date: 1714
• ISBN 10: 1406357472
• ISBN 13: 9781406357479
• Binding: Paperback