Animals Born Alive and Well

Perfect for introductory science and biology lessons!
 
What do mammals have in common?
 
They have fur. They nurse their young. They breathe fresh air. But what else?

Explore nature and discover a variety of mammals—also known as viviparous animals—and the many ways that they are unique from one another.
 
“Here are twenty double-page spreads all bright with mammals. Large, tiny, prehistoric, unusual—they are all here in repeatable rhymes, and a million-dollar word (viviparous) is tossed in for good measure.”
—The Provident Bookfinder

“Both simple and surprising, Heller's sprightly picture books use verse and unusually harmonious pictures to introduce the animal kingdom. Chickens lists some of the many good things that come in egg packages, while Animals mentions all manner of mammals.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
About the Explore! series:
 
Dedicated to helping children learn a variety of nonfiction subjects, the Explore series uses pitch-perfect rhyming text and brilliantly illustrated images to make learning fun.

Books in the series:

Explore Language
1. Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions
2. Cache of Jewels: And Other Collective Nouns
3. Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!: A Book About Interjections and Conjunctions
4. Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs
5. Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives
6. Mine, All Mine!: A Book About Pronouns
7. Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns
8. Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs
 
Explore Nature
1. Animals Born Alive and Well: A Book About Mammals and Their Young
2. Chickens Aren't the Only Ones: A Book About Animals Who Lay Eggs
3. The Reason for a Flower: A Book About Flowers, Pollen, and Seeds
4. Plants that Never Ever Bloom: A Book About Fungi, Ferns, and Other Plants Without Flowers

After receiving a fine arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and completing two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, Ruth Heller (1923-2004) began her career designing wrapping paper, cocktail napkins, greeting cards, and coloring books. After five years of rejection and one complete revision, Heller's first book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, about egg-laying animals, was published in 1981. It was so successful that the sequel, and second book to be published, Animals Born Alive And Well (1982), about mammals, quickly followed. In 1983 and 1984, her third and fourth titles, The Reason For A Flower (about plants that have seeds and flowers) and Plants That Never Ever Bloom (about plants that do not) were published.

She then began work on a collection of six books, the How To Hide series on camouflage and the magic of this phenomenon in nature, which covered the entire animal kingdom -- insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and sea creatures. The next collection of books became a five-volume series on parts of speech: A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns; Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs; Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives; Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns; and Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs. She also wrote and illustrated the unique and fascinating book Color, a charming and instructive guide to how art goes through the four color printing process.

Among the notable people who have had an influence on Heller's writing have been: Ogden Nash, Gilbert and Sullivan, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, and Dr. Seuss. Heller says of her work, "All my books are nonfiction picture books in rhyme. I find writing in rhyme enjoyable and challenging, and I think it is an easy way for children to learn new facts and acquire a sophisticated vocabulary. Children are not intimidated by big words. I try to make my writing succinct and allow the illustrations to convey as much information as possible."