- Table View
- List View
Skunk Cabbage, Sundew Plants, and Strangler Figs: And 18 More of the Strangest Plants on Earth
by Sally KneidelWhat plant is as heavy as 100 elephants and as tall as a 27-story building? Why does a skunk cabbage wear a hood? What kind of lily pad is strong enough to stand on? How does the cobra plant catch its prey? If you're curious about the natural world, you'll be amazed by Skunk Cabbage, Sundew Plants, and Strangler Figs. Get a close-up look at the wild, crazy, and daring lives of plants that can fly, hitch rides, float, hibernate--and even grow fur! Find out about pitcher plants, which kill and eat animals; Austrian orchids that bloom underground; tank bromeliads, which have entire communities of animals living inside them; and many more. This wonderfully detailed guide from the author of Pet Bugs; Afore Pet Bugs; and Stink Bugs, Stick Insects, and Stag Beetles unearths the wildest, weirdest plants in the world, as well as the surprisingly bizarre behaviors of everyday plants, trees, and shrubs.
A Skunk in the House
by Constance Taber ColbyBringing a new baby home is a memorable occasion--especially when the baby disappears behind the washing machine and steadfastly refuses to come out. One furious little skunk, acquired from a pet shop, took up residence under the Colbys' washer and launched the family into a series of unexpected, often hilarious adventures which Constance Taber Colby relates in this delightful book. The story of Secret--a name the family decided on after long debate--is told with sensitivity and affection; the reader shares the Colbys' excitement as they follow the little creature's step-by-step acceptance of, and affection for, his family. Secret, however, had his own ideas about training--training them--and soon the Colby household, whether in its Manhattan apartment or at Stillmeadow Farm, was geared to his routine. With unwavering determination Secret turned his environment into a proper habitat for a skunk. He forged his own trails through the house and chose his own favorite places for napping. He followed a rigid daily schedule and even initiated games and play periods with the single-mindedness of a cruise director. A Skunk in the House, an intriguing portrait of an unconventional pet, also reveals a charming family sharing the joys--and the sorrows--of daily life. More than that, Constance Taber Colby has produced a clear-eyed account of what happens when man comes in close contact with nature--nature in the form of one stubborn, instinct-governed, and quite amiable but untamable animal. Life with a skunk, with its odd surprises and unexpected lessons, is a humbling experience, Mrs. Colby admits, as four humans learned to adjust to--and respect--the integrity of a wild creature. Constance, daughter of Gladys Taber, studied historical linguistics at the University of Michigan and Columbia, and archaeology at the National University of Mexico. She has taught at a number of universities and colleges and most recently at Barnard. Mrs. Colby, her husband, and two daughters divide their time between Stillmeadow Farm in Connecticut and an apartment in New York City.
Skunk Scout
by Laurence YepTeddy's idea of a good vacation is a triple-feature at the movie theater. So when his uncle invites him to go camping, he is more than a little reluctant. To make matters worse, his know-it-all little brother, Bobby, is coming, too. Teddy practices his camping skills in his Chinatown apartment and watches Wilderness Scout for tips, but nothing can prepare him for his meeting with Mother Nature. Soon Teddy, Bobby, and Uncle Curtis find themselves in the woods, sleeping on rocks, and battling raccoons, mosquitoes, and poison oak. Through it all, Teddy is determined to prove he is just as smart as his little brother. But the worst is yet to come. A hike leaves them lost in the woods-and is that a skunk coming down the path
Skunks (Nature's Children)
by Laima DingwallWhat makes skunks so smelly? How many species of skunk are there? Where do Skunks live? You will learn the answers to these and other questions you have about these stripped members of the weasel family.
The Sky at Night: My Essential Guide to Navigating the Night Sky
by Dr Maggie Aderin-PocockLook up...The Art of Stargazing is the ultimate insider's guide to the night sky in which award-winning space scientist and The Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock shares her expertise and unique insights into the marvellous world of stars. Take a tour of the 88 constellations and explore the science, history, culture and romanticism behind these celestial bodies.In this must-have handbook for budding stargazers - and anyone looking for a little more wonder in their lives - Maggie will help you to identify stars and teach you the basics of naked-eye observation, offering fascinating facts plus advice on kit, 'dark sky' locations and much more. Also included are beautiful illustrations to accompany each constellation and an easy-to-read sky map. With Maggie by your side, the night sky will truly come alive.
A Sky Full of Birds
by Matt Merritt'Prose from a poet and a personal take on the spectacles' Chris Packham, author of Fingers in the Sparkle JarShortlisted for Richard Jefferies Society & White Horse Bookshop Literary Prize 2017Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2017Britain is a nation of bird-lovers. However, few of us fully appreciate the sheer scale, variety and drama of our avian life. From city-centre hunters to vast flocks straight out of the Arctic wilderness, much-loved dawn songsters to the exotic invaders of supermarket car parks, a host of remarkable wildlife spectacles are waiting to be discovered right outside our front doors.In A Sky Full of Birds, poet and nature writer Matt Merritt shares his passion for birdwatching by taking us to some of the great avian gatherings that occur around the British isles – from ravens in Anglesey and raptors on the Wirral, to Kent nightingales and Scottish capercaillies. By turns lyrical, informative and entertaining, he shows how natural miracles can be found all around us, if only we know where to look for them.A Sky Full of Birds is the perfect read for avid birdwatchers and a beautiful gift for lovers of nature and poetic prose.
A Sky Full of Kindness
by Rob RyanRob Ryan's papercut prose is so exquisitely intricate, it begs closer examination—and always captures a lingering eye. The story Ryan tells in this jacketed hardcover is a celebration of love and family just as heartfelt as it is visually arresting: two songbirds eagerly anticipate the arrival of their first child, and as they tend to their nest, they can't help but worry about becoming parents. It's the generosity and support of their avian friends and neighbors that confirms the world awaiting their unborn chick is indeed full of kindness. Brimming with poetic verse, each page is a work of art that will charm new parents and longtime fans of Ryan's evocative imagery.
The Sky of Our Manufacture: The London Fog in British Fiction from Dickens to Woolf (Under the Sign of Nature: Explorations in Ecocriticism)
by Jesse Oak TaylorThe smoke-laden fog of London is one of the most vivid elements in English literature, richly suggestive and blurring boundaries between nature and society in compelling ways. In The Sky of Our Manufacture, Jesse Oak Taylor uses the many depictions of the London fog in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century novel to explore the emergence of anthropogenic climate change. In the process, Taylor argues for the importance of fiction in understanding climatic shifts, environmental pollution, and ecological collapse. The London fog earned the portmanteau "smog" in 1905, a significant recognition of what was arguably the first instance of a climatic phenomenon manufactured by modern industry. Tracing the path to this awareness opens a critical vantage point on the Anthropocene, a new geologic age in which the transformation of humanity into a climate-changing force has not only altered our physical atmosphere but imbued it with new meanings. The book examines enduringly popular works--from the novels of Charles Dickens and George Eliot to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, and the Sherlock Holmes mysteries to works by Joseph Conrad and Virginia Woolf--alongside newspaper cartoons, scientific writings, and meteorological technologies to reveal a fascinating relationship between our cultural climate and the sky overhead. Under the Sign of Nature: Studies in Ecocriticism
Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond (Sky Pirates #1)
by Alex EnglishTake to the skies in this thrilling new series from author Alex English. (BEWARE: THERE WILL BE PIRATES!) 11 year-old Echo Quickthorn has grown up believing that nothing exists outside the Kingdom of Lockfort, but everything changes when an eccentric professor parks his airship outside her window armed with a map that shows all the magical places that exist beyond the city walls. Together with her pet lizard, Gilbert, Echo sets off on an incredible adventure to find her missing mother; an adventure that will take her to unimaginable places filled with giant butterflies, mechanical dragons and . . . sky pirates!Praise for Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond: "Fizzes with magic and wonder" – Abi Elphinstone, bestselling author of SKY SONG "A charmingly madcap adventure, with endearing friendships, sparkling wit, and a swashbuckling journey across pirate-infested skies. I loved it. Perfect for fans of Nevermoor and Cogheart." – Hana Tooke, author of THE UNADOPTABLES &“A spirited protagonist, a charming side-kick and a believable villain come together in this tightly plotted, visual, treat for the senses. I want to soar over the rainbow rooftops of Port Tourbillon and the toadstooled forests of Tyrian in my very own airship.&” – Nizrana Farook, author of THE GIRL WHO STOLE AN ELEPHANT &“Sky Pirates is a fast-moving adventure story full of intrepid explorers, ingenious inventors, stolen treasure and mysterious undiscovered lands. If you like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (and who doesn't?) you'll love Sky Pirates too!&” Kirsty Applebaum, author of THE MIDDLER "From the very first page, I felt as if I'd been grabbed by the hand by a best friend and taken on the journey of a lifetime. Pacey, thrilling and endearing too. If I was ever to encounter sky pirates, I can think of no one I'd want by my side more than clever, brave Echo." – Joanna Nadin, author of the RACHEL RILEY series &“A breath-taking adventure and a wonderfully imagined story of friendship and danger in strange places.&” – Claire Fayers, author of THE VOYAGE TO MAGICAL NORTH "An incredible adventure, brimming with friendship and danger" – The Bookseller
Sky Time in Gray's River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place
by Robert Michael PyleAn ecologist reflects on the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest as he describes the lives of plants, animals, and humans through every season of the year during his thirty years in the village of Gray's River, near the mouth of the Columbia River--long out of print, this classic of nature writing is being given a new life in trade paperback with a new afterword by the author.Sky Time in Gray's River is an elegant meditation on life in the rural Northwest. Although Robert Michael Pyle is a lepidopterist, and southwestern Washington is notable for its lack of butterflies, something about the Gray's River Valley spoke to him when he visited more than forty years ago. Since then he has lived near the village of Gray's River, one of the first to be established near the mouth of the Columbia River and only tenuously connected to the world of the twenty-first century. Pyle brings Gray's River to life by compressing those forty years into twelve chapters, following the lives of the people, plants, and animals that make this valley their home, month by month through the seasons.Through his loving portrait of one riverside village, Pyle illustrates how a special place can transform anyone lucky enough to find it. He shows that you don't have to travel far to see something new every day--if you know how to look.
Sky Tree: Seeing Science Through Art
by Thomas LockerA tree stands on a hill by a river. As the sky changes, so does the tree, its branches filling with clouds, stars, snow, birds, mists, and the golden spring sun. One tree can mean many things. Thomas Locker's lyrical text records the changes in the tree's world just as simply as a child might observe them, and his magnificent paintings crystallize the natural phenomena that embellish the tree on each page. Questions at the bottom of each page lead to a unique discussion in the back of the book, where art and science are intertwined, and further depth is added to the wonder of Sky Tree.
Skylark: The new novel from the author of ON THE UP
by Alice O'Keeffe'SKYLARK plunges the reader headfirst into a vivid, heady world where passion and betrayal collide. Beautifully-written, immersive and ultimately enraging, it's a must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to change the world.' - Erin Kelly'Alice O'Keeffe deftly renders the shocking truth of the spy cops scandal into a moving tale of love, identity and betrayal. Essential reading.' - Jake Arnott'Skylark is a book of profound psychological perception, which conjures with deft precision the atmosphere of the anti-roads movement in all its fierce, tender idealism. I couldn't put it down.' - Jay Griffiths Their ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart?It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air.Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer. Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same. But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know. A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state.Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police.As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?
Skylark: The new novel from the author of ON THE UP
by Alice O'Keeffe'SKYLARK plunges the reader headfirst into a vivid, heady world where passion and betrayal collide. Beautifully-written, immersive and ultimately enraging, it's a must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to change the world.' - Erin Kelly'Alice O'Keeffe deftly renders the shocking truth of the spy cops scandal into a moving tale of love, identity and betrayal. Essential reading.' - Jake Arnott'Skylark is a book of profound psychological perception, which conjures with deft precision the atmosphere of the anti-roads movement in all its fierce, tender idealism. I couldn't put it down.' - Jay Griffiths Their ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart?It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air.Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer. Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same. But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know. A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state.Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police.As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?
Skylark: THE COMPELLING NOVEL OF LOVE, BETRAYAL AND CHANGING THE WORLD
by Alice O'KeeffeTheir ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart?It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air.Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer.Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same.But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know.A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state.Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police.As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Skylark and Wallcreeper
by Anne O'Brien Carelli<p>While helping her granny Collette evacuate to a makeshift shelter in Brooklyn during Superstorm Sandy, Lily uncovers secrets of her grandmother's past as a member of the French Resistance during WWII. <p>Queens, 2012. <p>Hurricane Sandy is flooding New York City, and Lily is at a nursing home with her grandmother, Collette. Lily visits Collette often, as she is beginning to lose her memories. When the National Guard shows up to evacuate the building and take them to safety at the Park Slope armory in Brooklyn, Lily's granny suddenly produces a red box she's hidden in a closet for years. Once they get to safety, Lily opens the box, where she finds an old, beautiful Montblanc pen. Granny tells Lily that the pen is very important and that she has to take care of it, as well as some letters written in French. <p>But Lily loses the pen in the course of helping other nursing home residents, and as she searches the city trying to find it, she learns more about her grandmother's past in France and begins to uncover the significance of the pen with the help of her best friend, a quirky pen expert, and a larger-than-life, off-Broadway understudy. Told in alternating sections (2012 and 1944), this engaging book explores a deep friendship during difficult times and the importance of family.</p>
Skyler and Skyman
by Sue CowingOne day, Skyler meets Skyman, an old man who stares at the sky all day. After talking to Skyman about clouds, birds, and rain, he realizes the old man’s hobby can teach important lessons.
Sky's Witness: A Year in the Wind River Range
by C. L. RawlinsThoreau joked that he was a "self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms," never dreaming that such a need might exist. But such is the author's work and that of his various helpers, from ski bums to shortstops. They travel the alpine wilderness at all seasons by touring skis , snowshoes, pack llamas, float-tubes, and a tiny but dependable rat. The remove mountain beauty, "where thoughts stretch for miles and days," would be enough, but C.L. Rawlins is after something more. He's a backcountry hydrologist, collecting rain, snow, and the water of high lakes to measure air pollution.Alongside Rawlins we discover the natural history of the central Rockies, the flowering of plants, and the ways of mountain animals. We learn how the Shoshoni lived in this harsh country before the arrival of settlers. We see also the effect of twentieth-century living on a wilderness that feels pristine but bears the chemical trace of distant smokestacks and freeways.With a style that roams between natural observation and personal essay, Rawlins's Sky's Witness gives access not only to the wilderness but to the ways in which we know ourselves.
Skywatcher
by Jamie HoganTamen longs to see the stars, but none are visible in the light-polluted sky above the fire escape of his urban apartment building. Even in the neighborhood park, the stars are hidden by city lights. This is a story about love and sacrifice: Tamen’s mom, a nightshift nurse, finds a way to take him camping. For one magical night on the shore of a wilderness pond, the Milky Way in all its glory belongs to them.
Skywater
by Melinda Worth Popham"Brand X and his fellow coyotes . . . are meticulously observed in the desert environment that Ms. Popham seems to know like her backyard. And so are the people of this fable--old Hallie and Albert . . . and the several varmint-hunters, callous or alcoholic or both. There is a parable of how we might relate to the creatures that share the world with us; and a parable of dreams versus realty; and a parable of home, of known territory with its comparative safety; and a parable of making the best of a world short of everything. The people and the creatures of Ms. Popham's fable are right, they belong, and they mean." --Wallace Stegner "This spare and affecting novel has the precision and the stinging sweetness of a fable. A wonderful book." --Thomas McGuane "Refreshing . . . Life-affirming . . . The first book I've read in a long time that left me with teary eyes at the end."--The San Diego Tribune "Captivating . . . The animals' arduous westward journey down the Colorado River to the Gulf suggests a coyote world view that is subtly sustained by their mysterious ways." --Publishers Weekly "With dramatic urgency and imaginative tenderness, Melinda Popham has given the world a painful, poetic, and delightfully unpredictable story that pulsates with hope and healing meaning." --Al Young, California Poet Laureate Emeritus "Rich with poetic resonance." --Los Angeles Times Book Review "Evoking a rich sense of place and animal behavior, [Popham] lets us see through very different eyes." --The Seattle Times "A daring and visionary tale. [Popham] dares to tell us what a coyote thinks and sees and feels and dreams. . . . A hero of the classic kind--a furry, howling, water-seeking version of the Hero with a Thousand Faces." --James D. Houston "Masterful . . . Astonishing . . . Remarkable . . . Put down the latest technothriller and bask awhile in the descriptive prose of Skywater." --L.A. Life
Skywriting by Word of Mouth
by John LennonJohn Lennon wrote Skywriting by Word of Mouth, an impressive collection of writings and drawings, during Yoko Ono's pregnancy with Sean, and always planned to have it published. The book's publication was a wish that seemed to end with Lennon's assassination in 1980 and the theft of the manuscript from the Lennons' home in 1982. When it was recovered and first published in 1986, Skywriting received immediate critical and popular acclaim. Filled with Lennon's extraordinary creative powers and lavishly illustrated with his own drawings, the collection reveals his fertile creative spirit up close and in full force. Included in Skywriting are "Two Virgins," written when the public learned that John and Yoko were living together as husband and wife, and John's only autobiography, "The Ballad of John and Yoko." In addition there are notes on his falling in love with Yoko, the breakup of the Beatles, his persecution by U.S. authorities, and his withdrawal from public life. This is a book with John Lennon's spirit on every page—a spirit the world needs to remember.
Slate as Dimension Stone: Origin, Standards, Properties, Mining and Deposits (Springer Mineralogy)
by Jörn WichertThis book offers a comprehensive review devoted exclusively to slate as dimension stone. Beginning with a description of the slate as dimension stone, the book describes the origin of slate and related geological phenomena.It thoroughly explains key data acquisition methods and techniques, which are accompanied by extensive data. In turn, slate standards are introduced and compared with regard to their importance for product quality. The book covers in detail the specific petrographical, fabric, strength, physical properties and weathering behaviour of slates.The chapter on mining and production provides an overview of the different forms of exploitation and related geotechnical aspects, together with production and workflow design, from the beginning to the final product.The second part comprises a thorough description of worldwide slate deposits and their geology, properties and appearance as well as a brief introduction of the history.Given its scope and accessible format, the book represents an essential guide for scientists, engineers, and professionals in geology, conservation science, architecture, and mining, as well as readers who are active in the slate industry.
Slave Portraiture in the Atlantic World
by Agnes Lugo-Ortiz Angela RosenthalSlave Portraiture in the Atlantic World is the first book to focus on the individualized portrayal of enslaved people from the time of Europe's full engagement with plantation slavery in the late sixteenth century to its final official abolition in Brazil in 1888. While this period saw the emergence of portraiture as a major field of representation in Western art, "slave" and "portraiture" as categories appear to be mutually exclusive. On the one hand, the logic of chattel slavery sought to render the slave's body as an instrument for production, as the site of a non-subject. Portraiture, on the contrary, privileged the face as the primary visual matrix for the representation of a distinct individuality. The essays in this volume address this apparent paradox of "slave portraits" from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. They probe the historical conditions that made the creation of such rare and enigmatic objects possible and explore their implications for a more complex understanding of power relations under slavery.
Slaves of Sleep & the Masters of Sleep
by L. Ron HubbardExplore an exotic new world in this fantastic tale. Millionaire Jan Palmer's fortunes abruptly change when the seal on an ancient Arabian copper jar is broken and a powerful and relentless evil is released - Zongri the Jinn. Imprisoned for thousands of years, Zongri has sworn that whoever sets him free will die. But when he fulfills this vow by slashing Professor Frobish in two, it is Jan Palmer, holding the bloody scimitar, who is caught by the police. For Jan, his problems have just begun: Zongri, before departing, curses him with "Eternal Wakefulness." Locked in a prison cell, charged with murder, Jan comes to a horrible realization of what this means. As he drifts into slumber he finds himself in a strange world, one where humans rank below slaves, where evil Jinn reign and danger is all too real. On Earth he is Jan Palmer, imprisoned for murder, and in the land of the Jinn he is "Tiger," the swashbuckling rogue - but in both, he faces death at every turn.Acclaimed as one of Hubbard's most powerful and timeless fantasy stories. "A master of adventure."--Anne McCaffrey.
Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter
by Eugenie DoyleA captivating exploration of how a family gets a farm ready for the snow of winter, Sleep Tight Farm lyrically connects each growing season to the preparations at the very end of the farm year. This beautiful and informative book paints a fascinating picture of what winter means to the farm year and to the family that shares its seasons, from spring's new growth, summer's heat, and fall's bounty to winter's well-earned rest. All year long the farm has worked to shelter us, feed us, keep us warm, and now it's time to sleep. Plus, this is the fixed format version, which looks almost identical to the print edition.
Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter
by Eugenie Doyle Becca StadtlanderA captivating exploration of how a family gets a farm ready for the snow of winter, Sleep Tight Farm lyrically connects each growing season to the preparations at the very end of the farm year. This beautiful and informative book paints a fascinating picture of what winter means to the farm year and to the family that shares its seasons, from spring's new growth, summer's heat, and fall's bounty to winter's well-earned rest. All year long the farm has worked to shelter us, feed us, keep us warm, and now it's time to sleep.