Secret Stories – serie

In every part of the globe, in every pocket of the sea, in ancient ground beneath your feet, up tall mountains you can’t see, in stones, in plants, in birds and beasts, lie nature’s secret stories. This beautiful field-guide explores the histories and mysteries hidden in the wild, just waiting to be shared. Readers are invited on a journey around our wonderful world, through wild forests, over mountains high, to the bottom of our oceans and the earth beneath us. Each chapter investigates a different environment, and within, the pages tell the secret stories of the animals, plants, and natural phenomena of these habitats. Some secrets tell us of links between species, or unusual adaptations and features, others tell us how nature has evolved, and many hold the keys to understanding our planet’s past. Readers will come away with a wealth of knowledge and discover how looking at nature today can help us understand and unlock mysteries from long ago, from bygone weather to the dinosaurs. They’ll learn how resin and rock can preserve long-lost plants and creatures, how the rings inside coral skeletons can reveal weather patterns from the distant past, how layers of the seabed can indicate a previous mass extinction occurred, how ice can trap gases and tell us the make-up of our ancient atmosphere, and much more. The text also touches on how these secrets are often uncovered through scientific research, observation, fossil records, as well as using modern inventions and techniques like carbon dating. Spreads at the back of the book encourage readers to search for secrets in nature close to home and explore how we can all help protect the animals, plants and natural features of today so we can continue to enjoy and learn from them. The fascinating information is brought to life with meticulously detailed, vintage-style artwork from Vasilisa Romanenko, making this book a true treasure trove for the whole family to enjoy.

The secret lives and amazing adaptations of past creatures are revealed in this beautifully illustrated compendium of Earth’s long-gone beasts.Buried far beneath the ground are secret stories of ancient lands. Stories from a time when dinosaurs with tails as big as whales towered over trees, birds had teeth, and super-fast sharks with saws for jaws swam through oceans and seas.Earth’s amazing animals may be lost in time, but they are no longer forgotten.From dinosaurs and sea beasts, to giant bugs, birds and Ice Age mammals, these spectacular species were once to be seen stomping, roaring, soaring and crawling across land, sky and sea – but are now extinct and lost forever. In this beautifully illustrated follow-up to Secret Stories of Nature, you can uncover the fascinating histories of Earth’s most astounding extinct animals, from iconic beasts such as Tyrannosaurus rex, the woolly mammoth and the dodo, to jaw-dropping creatures such as a dragonfly-relative the size of a pigeon and a tiny sea beast that looked like a cartoon character. When did giant bugs zoom through the skies and how did these creepy-crawlies become so colossal? Which dinosaurs had feathers and why is T. rex the most famous dinosaur of all time? How did mammals survive the giant asteroid? Which extinct animal had a boomerang-shaped head and which one was a mishmash of a bird, pig, crocodile and armoured armadillo? The answers to these secrets are waiting for you within!You'll discover how scientists past and present have used research, observation and fossil records to piece these stories together and unravel their secrets. Intriguingly, some secrets are yet to be revealed, while others are rewritten when exciting new information changes what we think we know.As well as discovering ancient animals, you can learn about beautiful beasts that have sadly been lost in recent years, but also the remarkable stories of animals once thought to be extinct – but which have been rediscovered. Finally, at the back of the book you can learn how to help protect creatures that are critically endangered and their habitats. We can all work together to preserve our beautiful planet and its rich biodiversity!The fascinating text from children’s author Saskia Gwinn is brought to life by gorgeously detailed, vintage-style artwork from Vasilisa Romanenko, making this a perfect gift book for the whole family to share.