Stacy Tornio - The Kids Ultimate Animal Adventure Book: 745 Quirky Facts and Hands-On Activities for Year-Round Fun

Stacy Tornio is a master gardener, master naturalist, and the author of six books, all dedicated to getting kids and families outside. Though shes a native Oklahoman, she now resides in Milwaukee, where she enjoys watching her two children explore nature in their own backyard and beyond. Stacy loves gardening and even had her own veggie stand at the farmers market when she was a kid. Today, shes still growing veggies, along with lots of other plants and flowers. She enjoys trying unique varieties like purple carrots, orange coneflowers, and any type of daisy. Stacy also worked on the national birding and gardening magazine, Birds & Blooms, for ten years.

Ken Keffer was born and raised in Wyoming. A naturalist and environmental educator, he has worked in Alaska, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. During this time, hes studied flying squirrels, camels, prairie dogs, and lots and lots of birds. Ken is a freelance writeryou can see his articles regularly in Birds & Blooms, Outdoors Unlimited, and Parks and Recreation magazines. When hes not traveling or educating others about nature, he enjoys birding, snowshoeing, fly fishing, and walking his dog, Willow the Wonder Mutt.

Visit Stacy and Kens website, destinationnature.net, to learn more about them and their books.

An imprint of Globe Pequot

Falcon and FalconGuides are registered trademarks and Make Adventure Your Story is a trademark of Rowman & Littlefield.

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright 2017 Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer

Cover Illustration by Corissa Nelson

Illustrations by Rachel Riordan Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

ISBN 978-1-4930-2972-3 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-4930-2973-0 (e-book)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Nature is filled with animals. Whether you go exploring in your own backyard or like to climb mountaintops, youre sure to encounter birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and all kinds of amazing mammals along the way.

As a family who likes nature and enjoys being outside, you probably already know about a lot of the cool creatures you can find in the great outdoors. Yet when it comes to animals, you always want to see, learn, and do more. Now you can!

Inspired by the popular FalconGuides series from Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer, this book takes all the great animal tips and information from their three booksThe Kids Outdoor Adventure Book, The Truth About Nature, and The Secret Lives of Animalsand combines it into one.

Going outside is never going to be the same because this book will make you see and understand animals and their habitats in a whole new way. From learning fascinating facts and looking for animal signs to exploring on your own, youll definitely gain a whole new appreciation for all of North Americas great creatures. Get out there and explore!

SEE

In this first section youll discover some of the coolest and most common animals found in North America, including invertebrates, fish, mammals, and more. For each animal, you will read all kinds of little-known facts. These will help you learn to recognize the animals when youre out in the wild and notice signs of them all around you.

LEARN

With so much different and even conflicting information out there about animals, how do you know what you should believe? In this section youll learn about some of the most common myths about animals in North America. From basic myths to more challenging ones, youll learn the truth for each one. This way you can pass along the right information to others once and for all.

Psst! Keep an eye out for the Myth Scale listed in this section. With Level 3, the myths are completely false, Level 2 the myths are mostly false, and Level 1 the myths might have a tiny bit of truth to them.

DO

Now that you know cool facts and the truth about North Americas most popular animals, its time to start checking out the great outdoors with your family! Think of this section as your adventure checklist of activities that all kids should do before they grow up. Youll find stuff for beginners, more advanced explorers, and even challenging items for those who consider themselves nature pros! Ready? Get outside to learn about animals as you go!

Psst! Look for the Adventure Scale listed on the activities, which gives you an idea of difficulty level1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest.

BONUS

Dont forget to check out this bonus section of games, projects, and more. This hands-on area will offer hours of fun. Plus, look for unique ideas on how to put an animal twist on these activities! Learn some cool and little-known facts about North Americas most common animals.

Dont be fooled by their size. Learn why these animals are definitely worth looking for when youre out and about in the great outdoors.

It might be tempting to lump all dragonflies together. After all, they do look similar, zipping up, down, and all around water. But its worth taking a closer look when you see these fliers because there are many, many species. They seem to come in every color imaginable too. So the next time you see a big-eyed dragonfly flying your way, try to notice its size, the color of its body and wings, and more. Then get out an insect book and challenge yourself to identify (ID) it.

LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS

Many people think girl dragonflies are called damselflies, but thats not true. Damselflies are just one kind of dragonfly. Damselflies rest with their wings folded behind their bodies, while dragonflies rest with theirs held out to the side.

Dragonflies date back more than 300 million years. In fact, fossils show us that they were once quite big. Some records show dragonflies with wingspans of 2 feet. Imagine seeing that flying around!

The larval stage of dragonflies can last up to two years. They live underwater, and you might not recognize them as dragonflies.