Ginjer L. Clarke - Platypus!

For Ren, Nancy, Jessica, Vicki, Michele, and Shari, my dearest and most loyal girlfriends, who are each as unique and amazing as the playful platypus
G.L.C.For my daughters, Anna and Claire, as always, and Bob the cat, who posed for the art showing platypus size
P.M. Text copyright 2004 by Ginjer L. Clarke. Cover art and interior illustrations copyright 2004 by Paul Mirocha. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York. Step into Reading, Random House, and the Random House colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

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Clarke, Ginjer L.
Platypus! / by Ginjer L. Clarke ; illustrated by Paul Mirocha.
p. cm. (Step into reading. A step 2 book)
Summary: Simply describes what a platypus looks like, where it lives, and how it swims, builds a nest, cares for its eggs, and raises its babies.
ISBN 978-0-375-82417-3 (trade) ISBN 978-0-375-92417-0 (lib. bdg.)
1.

PlatypusJuvenile literature. [1. Platypus.]
I. Mirocha, Paul, ill. II. III. III.

Series.
QL737 .M72 C53 2004 599.29dc22 2003016512 eBook ISBN: 978-0-553-53670-6 This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient Leveling System.
Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read. v3.1

The sun is setting. Many animals are going to sleep. But the platypus (say: PLAT-uh-puss) is just waking up. Splash! The platypus dives under the water. She spins and swoops. She spins and swoops.

The platypus likes to play.

The platypus is hungry. She scoops up a mouthful of bugs and worms. Yum! The platypus has thick, slick fur. She has a long, strong tail like a beaver. She is about as long as a pet cat.

But she is not as heavy.

The platypus has webbed feet and a bill like a duck. She lays eggs, too. But is she a bird? No. The platypus is a mammal. The platypus digs a tunnel in the mud. Then she gathers grass and leaves from the riverbank.