I was very small when I saw my first dolphin, says zoologist Nicola Davies, recalling a seminal visit with her father to a dolphin show at the zoo. Enchanted at the sight of what she called the big fish jumping so high and swimming so fast, she determined right then that she would meet the amazing creatures again in the wild, where they belonged. And indeed she did--as part of a pair of scientific expeditions, one to Newfoundland at the age of eighteen and another to the Indian Ocean a year later. In WILD ABOUT DOLPHINS, Nicola Davies describes her voyages in a firsthand account filled with fascinating facts and captivating photographs of seven species of dolphins in action.

Nicola Daviess seemingly boundless enthusiasm for studying animals of all kinds has led her around the world--and fortunately for young readers, she is just as excited about sharing her interests through picture books. The zoologists latest offering puts a decidedly quirky twist on her years of experience: POOP: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UNMENTIONABLE is a fun, fact-filled guide to the fascinating world of poop across species. As a zoologist, you are never far from poop! the writer explains. Ive baked goose poop in an oven with my dinner, looked at bat poop under the microscope, and had my T-shirt stained pink with blue-whale poop. I was obviously fated to write this book.


The exceptional combination of Nicola Daviess zoological expertise and her first-rate childrens writing is apparent in her remarkable catalog of award-winning titles. Her first book with Candlewick Press, BIG BLUE WHALE, was hailed by American Bookseller as an artfully composed study offering language exactly appropriate for four- to seven-year-olds and precisely the right amount of information. In ONE TINY TURTLE, Nicola Daviess clear, compelling narrative follows the life of the rarely seen loggerhead turtle, which swims the oceans for thirty years and for thousands of miles in search of food, only to retur