In this introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals, young children explain why they identify with different creatures such as a deer, beaver or moose. Delightful illustrations show the children wearing masks representing their chosen animal, while the few lines of text on each page work as a series of simple poems throughout the book. In a brief author’s note, Danielle Daniel explains the importance of totem animals in Anishinaabe culture and how they can also act as animal guides for young children seeking to understand themselves and others.
A curious creature that looks like a fox but acts like a dog sets out to find where he belongs in this charming tale of self-discovery and friendship perfect for fans of Gaston and Not Quite Narwhal. When Luca first arrives at the dog park, the other dogs turn him away. "You're not a dog," they say, "You're a fox." But . . . Luca likes to chase cats. He likes to yip at mailmen. And he likes sniff other dogs you-know-where. Still, Luca has to admit, he doesn't look like the other dogs. So . . . he must be a fox, right? But when Luca finds a trio of foxes in the forest and asks to join them, they don't think that Luca is a fox at all. After all, Luca acts just like a dog. Luca can't seem to find anyone quite like him, but then he meets a caring little girl and finds something even better--a friend. In this heartwarming tale, Karina Wolf and Chuck Groenick remind us that you don't need a label to find just where you belong. "Wolf and Groenink take on the big issue of identity within the context of a gentle urban world, and readers will sense that the thoughtful, earnest protagonist's question--"Who am I?"--will lead to a wonderful answer: someone who is loved." --Publishers Weekly "A warmhearted and warm-spirited story of love and acceptance." --Kirkus Reviews
Tucked away in Siberia, there are furry, four-legged creatures with wagging tails and floppy ears that are as docile and friendly as any lapdog. But, despite appearances, these are not dogs—they are foxes. They are the result of the most astonishing experiment in breeding ever undertaken—imagine speeding up thousands of years of evolution into a few decades. In 1959, biologists Dmitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut set out to do just that, by starting with a few dozen silver foxes from fox farms in the USSR and attempting to recreate the evolution of wolves into dogs in real time in order to witness the process of domestication. This is the extraordinary, untold story of this remarkable undertaking. Most accounts of the natural evolution of wolves place it over a span of about 15,000 years, but within a decade, Belyaev and Trut’s fox breeding experiments had resulted in puppy-like foxes with floppy ears, piebald spots, and curly tails. Along with these physical changes came genetic and behavioral changes, as well. The foxes were bred using selection criteria for tameness, and with each generation, they became increasingly interested in human companionship. Trut has been there the whole time, and has been the lead scientist on this work since Belyaev’s death in 1985, and with Lee Dugatkin, biologist and science writer, she tells the story of the adventure, science, politics, and love behind it all. In How to Tame a Fox, Dugatkin and Trut take us inside this path-breaking experiment in the midst of the brutal winters of Siberia to reveal how scientific history is made and continues to be made today. To date, fifty-six generations of foxes have been domesticated, and we continue to learn significant lessons from them about the genetic and behavioral evolution of domesticated animals. How to Tame a Fox offers an incredible tale of scientists at work, while also celebrating the deep attachments that have brought humans and animals together throughout time.
Discover the hidden world of the fox, as beautifully revealed by an acclaimed ecologist who has studied foxes for two decades across four continents “An ode to this familiar yet mysterious creature. … The sight of foxes can lift Brand's prose into poetry. ... By turns lyrical, salty, funny and scholarly.” —New York Times Book Review The fox. For thousands of years myth and folklore have celebrated its cunning intelligence. Today the red fox is the nature’s most populous carnivore, its dancing orange tail a common sight in backyards. Yet who is this wild neighbor, truly? How do we negotiate this uneasy new chapter of an ancient relationship? Join British ecologist Adele Brand on a journey to discover the surprising secrets of the fabled fox, the familiar yet enigmatic creature that has adapted to the human world with astonishing—some say, unsettling—success. Brand has studied foxes for twenty years across four continents—from the Yucatán rainforest to India’s remote Thar Desert, from subarctic Canada to metropolitan London. Her observations have convinced her that the fox is arguably the most modern of all wildlife, uniquely suited to survival in the rapidly expanding urban/wild interface. Blending cutting-edge science, cultural anthropology, and intimate personal storytelling drawn from her own remarkable fieldwork, The Hidden World of the Fox is Brand’s rich and revelatory portrait of the extraordinary animal she has devoted her life to understanding.
Rufus the fox is up to something-- find out why he's acting so crazy in this clever simile story. All night, he's been sleeping like a log. When the sun rises, he feels as fresh as a daisy. In a story told entirely with similes, Rufus sneaks up and startles his friend Babette, and leads her on a wild chase through the woods. Perfect for teaching figurative language, this brightly-illustrated picture book includes the definition of a simile, as well as a brief introduction to idioms and cliches-- and examples on every page of different sayings and similes. Loreen Leedy's zany illustrations depic the figurative sayings in literal ways-- a wooden fox sleeping like a log, a yellow and black striped sheep who's as mad as a hornet-- to bring home the meanings of the expressions. Perfect for kids studying creative writing, or English language learners who may not be familiar with common but less literal sayings, Crazy Like a Fox will make readers happy as a clam-- and help them incorporate similes into their own writing.
In this engaging introduction to the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), J. David Henry recounts his years of field research on this flame-colored predator. With its catlike whiskers, teeth, and paws, as well as vertical-slit pupils, the North American red fox not only resembles but often behaves like a feline, especially when hunting. Probing the reasons for these similarities, Henry reveals the behavior and ecology of a species that thrives from the edge of suburbia to the cold northern tundra.
Jake McGowan-Lowe is a boy with a very unusual hobby. Since the age of 7, he has been photographing and blogging about his incredible finds and now has a worldwide following, including 100,000 visitors from the US and Canada. Follow Jake as he explores the animal world through this new 64-page book. He takes you on a world wide journey of his own collection, and introduces you to other amazing animals from the four corners of the globe. Find out what a cow's tooth, a rabbit's rib and a duck's quack look like and much, much more besides.
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." This ancient Greek aphorism, preserved in a fragment from the poet Archilochus, describes the central thesis of Isaiah Berlin's masterly essay on Leo Tolstoy and the philosophy of history, the subject of the epilogue to War and Peace. Although there have been many interpretations of the adage, Berlin uses it to mark a fundamental distinction between human beings who are fascinated by the infinite variety of things and those who relate everything to a central, all-embracing system. Applied to Tolstoy, the saying illuminates a paradox that helps explain his philosophy of history: Tolstoy was a fox, but believed in being a hedgehog. One of Berlin's most celebrated works, this extraordinary essay offers profound insights about Tolstoy, historical understanding, and human psychology. This new edition features a revised text that supplants all previous versions, English translations of the many passages in foreign languages, a new foreword in which Berlin biographer Michael Ignatieff explains the enduring appeal of Berlin's essay, and a new appendix that provides rich context, including excerpts from reviews and Berlin's letters, as well as a startling new interpretation of Archilochus's epigram.
The inspiring true story of "one of the country's finest educators" (National Review) and the school he changed forever. Under the leadership of highly unorthodox principal Dr. Ben Chavis, Oakland's American Indian Public Charter School was hailed as an "education miracle" by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger after it was transformed from a failing "nuisance" into one of the best public middle schools in the nation. This is the story of that transformation and of a man who dared to be different. With his rigorous, no-nonsense approach, Dr. Chavis debunks the myth that poor, minority, inner-city schools have little chance at academic excellence. Focusing on back-tobasics ideals, he has created a structured educational model that, combined with the enthusiasm of his students and teachers, delivers astounding results. In Crazy Like a Fox, Dr. Chavis recounts how he did it-in his own words and through the stories of the extraordinary young people he's helped.
