To accompany this year’s Summer Reading theme, we’ve curated nonfiction works celebrating animals, and their human companions and advocates.
The Complete Cat Breed Book
DK
Choose the perfect cat for you From Siamese to Sphynx cats, The Complete Cat Breed Book will help you choose the perfect companion for you. Fully illustrated and featuring over 150 of the world's best-loved cat breeds, this is the only cat breed guide you'll ever need. Complete with breed history, appearance and personality traits with Q&A charts, you're sure to find all the information necessary when choosing your cat. Also find expert advice on communicating with your cat and top tips on tackling behavioural problems such as ankle biting or furniture scratching. A concise care programme will cover all stages of your cat's life, from establishing a routine to dealing with common health problems. The Complete Cat Breed Book is a one-stop manual to helping you become the owner of a happy, healthy, well-mannered cat.
Read More View in CatalogAre We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Frans de Waal
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition—in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos—to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we’ve underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal’s landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal—and human—intelligence.
Read More View in CatalogThe Photo Ark
Joel Sartore
This lush book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals-especially those that are endangered. His powerful message, conveyed with humor, compassion, and art- to know these animals is to save them.Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits- from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the eloquent prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents a thought-provoking argument for saving all the species of our planet.
Read More View in CatalogPhoto Ark Vanishing
Joel Sartore
Celebrated National Geographic photojournalist Sartore continues his Photo Ark quest, photographing species around the world that are escaping extinction thanks to human efforts. The animals featured in these pages are either destined for extinction or already extinct in the wild but still alive today, thanks to dedication of a heroic group committed to their continued survival.l.
Read More View in CatalogMy Old Dog
Laura T. Coffey
The story of photographer Lori Fusaro’s work with senior shelter pets. While generally calm, easy, and already house-trained, these animals often represent the highest-risk population at shelters. With gorgeous, joyful photographs and sweet, funny, true tales of “old dogs learning new tricks,” Coffey and Fusaro show that adopting a senior can be even more rewarding than choosing a younger dog. You’ll meet endearing elders like Marnie, the irresistible shih tzu who has posed for selfies with Tina Fey, James Franco, and Betty White; Remy, a soulful nine-year-old dog adopted by elderly nuns; George Clooney’s cocker spaniel, Einstein; and Bretagne, the last known surviving search dog from Ground Zero. They may be slower moving and a tad less exuberant than puppies, but these pooches prove that adopting a senior brings immeasurable joy, earnest devotion, and unconditional love.
Read More View in CatalogSecret Service Dogs
Maria Goodavage
US members of state are protected by service dogs and their handlers. Secret Service Dogs shines a spotlight on some of these canine heroes, from Hurricane, a Belgian Malinois with four titanium teeth, to Roadee, a little terrier mix with a big attitude. It's a must-read for dog lovers and anyone who wants a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most captivating programs of the United States Secret Service.
Read More View in CatalogThe Artful Bird
Abigail Patner Glassenberg
Join the flock! Create your own aviary of charming, beautifully detailed, one-of-a-kind fabric bird sculptures with basic machineand handsewing, embroidery, and mixed-media craft techniques. The Artful Bird presents 16 incredibly charming, quirky, personality-filled birds for you to make! Through a detailed chapter of step-by-step basic birdmaking techniques and tips, you will not only learn to make these cute creatures, but also discover how to craft your own patterns for almost any bird--real or imagined. Inside you'll also find Glassenberg's creative ideas to give each bird individual character and personality, from using paint and glitter to adding collage elements. Plus, check out an international gallery of birds from other noted fabric bird makers for more inspiration!
Read More View in CatalogA Street Cat Named Bob
James Bowen
Traces the story of an impoverished London street musician who after saving an injured and highly intelligent cat found his life profoundly changed in unexpected ways.
View in CatalogHow to Draw Cute Animals
Angela Nguyen
Don't believe seagulls and stingrays can be cute? Think again! Enter planet CUTE! This follow-up to How to Draw Cute Stuff teaches kids how to draw a menagerie of adorable creatures, from cats, dogs, hedgehogs, and hamsters to dolphins, bunnies, swans, and unicorns. An introduction explains the popular kawaii style of art, step-by-step how-to sequences make the process simple enough for beginners, and interactive pages get budding artists practicing right away.
Read More View in CatalogBetween Two Kingdoms
Suleika Jaouad
When Suleika finally walked out of the hospital--after three and a half years of chemo, a clinical trial, and a bone marrow transplant--she was, according to the doctors, cured. But as she would soon learn, a cure is not where the work of healing ends; it's where it begins. She had spent the past 1,500 days in desperate pursuit of one goal--to survive. And now that she'd done so, she realized she had no idea how to live. Suleika embarked--with her new best friend, Oscar, a scruffy terrier mutt--on a 100-day, 15,000-mile road trip across the country. She set out to meet some of the strangers who had written to her during her years in the hospital: a teenage girl in Florida also recovering from cancer; a teacher in California grieving the death of her son; a death row inmate in Texas who had also spent years confined in a room. What she learned on this trip is that the divide between the sick and the well doesn't really exist. It is porous, and the vast majority of us will travel back and forth between these realms throughout our lives. Between Two Kingdoms is a profound chronicle of survivorship and a fierce, inspiring exploration of what it means to begin again.
Read More View in CatalogThe Perfect Horse
Elizabeth Letts
In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find—his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world’s finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine—an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food. With only hours to spare, one of the U.S. Army’s last great cavalrymen, Colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision—with General George Patton’s blessing—to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed’s small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses. Pulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler’s imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator’s son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm’s surrender.
Read More View in CatalogMichigan Nature Set
James Kavanagh
The Michigan Nature Set offers the best in wildlife and plant identification for The Great Lakes State. The set includes three Pocket Naturalist Guides to Michigan, Trees & Wildflowers, Birds, and Wildlife, and is attractively packaged in an acetate bag. The beautifully illustrated folding guides highlight well over 300 familiar and unique species and include ecoregion maps featuring prominent wildlife-viewing areas and botanical sanctuaries. Laminated for durability, Pocket NaturalistGuides are lightweight, pocket-sized sources of portable information and ideal for field use by novices and experts alike.
Read More View in CatalogH Is for Hawk
Helen Macdonald
Fierce and feral, her goshawk Mabel's temperament mirrors Helen's own state of grief after her father's death, and together raptor and human "discover the pain and beauty of being alive." H Is for Hawk is a genre-defying debut from one of our most unique and transcendent voices.
Read More View in CatalogTravels with Charley
John Steinbeck
An intimate journey across America, as told by one of its most beloved writers To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light - these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years. With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.
Read More View in CatalogCrochet Cute Critters
Sarah Zimmerman
Crochet a zoo full of adorable animal friends with ease. Discover how simple crafting your own crochet plush animals can be. From alligators to zebras, Crochet Cute Critters features 26 beginner-friendly patterns for creating all kinds of cuddly companions. Amigurumi--the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed toys--might seem intimidating, but this book keeps it easy and fun with complete guides that cover everything you need to know. Whether you're stitching up delightfully huggable gifts for kids or grandkids or just looking to assemble your own plush menagerie, Crochet Cute Critters will have you up and going in no time. Crochet Cute Critters includes: Cute critters, from A-to-Z--Alex the Alligator, Freddy the Fox, Walter the Whale, Zina the Zebra...choose from 26 lovable designs that span the entire animal kingdom. Amigurumi for everyone--Step-by-step instructions for stitching, detailing, and stuffing make things easy for beginners and experts alike. Build on what you learn--Every animal shares the same basic head and body pattern, allowing you to carry your practice and experience from project to project.
Read More View in CatalogThe Sixth Extinction
Elizabeth Kolbert
A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In The Sixth Extinction, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino. Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
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