Take a closer look at nature's amazing insect architect--the hornet Each year, a young female hornet queen selects just the right spot and designs a nest of six-sided cells. Every cell is made from a paper-like material she creates by mixing wood with her own saliva. Once she has a small structure, she lays an egg in each cell and raises her young. Soon the queen has a whole family of workers, which continue to build more cells and increase the size of the hive. These workers also hunt insects for food, care for the queen and her young, and protect the nest. In this exciting book, you can learn what makes hornets similar to and different from other insects. Close-up diagrams reveal extraordinary details about hornets' bodies, both inside and out. And you can perform an activity that helps you understand how a female hornet queen creates the paper-like material for her nest. Learn more about this exciting member of nature's fascinating Insect World

Honey bees are among the world's most important insects. They help pollinate many of the crops we depend on for food. Without them, the global food supply would be in great danger.

In 1998, beekeepers in Europe made a shocking discovery--almost all of the honey bees had disappeared from their hives. Several years later, beekeepers in the United States found that many of their honey bees had vanished too. Scientists called this disappearance colony collapse disorder (CCD), and at first, no one knew why it was happening.

It was time to call the bee doctors! Join author Sandra Markle as she explores what apiologists--scientists who study bees--have learned about CCD and what they are doing to prevent it from spreading further.

If you could have any animal's home, whose would you choose?

What if you woke up one morning and discovered you were living inside a wild animal's home instead of your own? How would that change your daily life? What If You Had an Animal Home!? is the next imaginative book in Sandra Markle's popular What If You Had...? series.

If you had a honeybee's home, you'd always have room service. If you had a meerkat's home, you'd play hide-and-seek for hours. And a hermit crab's home would follow you wherever you go! The animal kingdom has tons of amazing homes, but yours is pretty great, too!

Discover what your life would be like if you had these special animal homes -- and find out why your home is just right for you!

If you could have any dinosaur body part, which would you choose?

What if you woke up one morning and you had sprouted a dinosaur body part overnight?

Sandra Markle's bestselling What If You Had... series is now in Scholastic's Level 2 reader format! Perfect for kids just learning to read independently, this imaginative book explores what would happen if you looked in the mirror and saw a dinosaur body part instead of your own!

From a Velociraptor's sharp sickle-tipped toes to a T. rex's giant curved teeth, and from the body armor of an Ankylosaurus to the long neck of a Brachiosaurus -- discover what it would be like if you had one of these wild dinosaur parts! Readers will also learn what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur and why they aren't around today.

With their long tusks, narwhals are unique whales that live in the Arctic Ocean.

But as climate change causes global temperatures to rise, less and less sea ice is covering the Arctic Ocean each year. Narwhals are left vulnerable without the ice, which historically provided them with safe areas to roam out of reach of their natural predators, killer whales. And humans are taking advantage of the clearer water, searching and drilling for oil and hauling cargo. So as Arctic sea ice shrinks, a new challenge emerges: noise pollution from human activity. The thrum of engines and other man-made sounds threaten narwhals ability to locate food, communicate with other narwhals, and use echolocation to navigate while migrating.

How can people reduce noise pollution in the Arctic Ocean to help them? Follow along as scientists study the effects of noise pollution on narwhals and work to ensure they have a hope-filled future.

North America's rarest wolf species, the red wolf, was on the brink of extinction.

At one time, red wolves roamed the US from southern New York to as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. But as European settlers moved in, these wolves began losing their home range and were hunted as a threat.

Red wolves became so rare by 1973 that they were given protection under the US Endangered Species Act. Then scientists came up with a daring plan: round up all remaining red wolves, launch a captive breeding program, and once the captive population was large enough, release red wolves to roam free in protected areas.

Follow along as scientists, conservationists, and wildlife experts join forces to help red wolves live wild again.

What if you woke up one morning and your eyes weren't yours?

Sandra Markle's bestselling What If You Had... series is now in Scholastic's Level 2 reader format! Perfect for kids just learning to read independently, this imaginative book explores what would happen if you looked in the mirror and saw a pair of animal eyes instead of your own.

From the chameleon's eyes that can point in different directions, to the colossal squid's eyes that shine in the dark, discover what it would be like if you had these special eyes. Then, find out why your eyes are just the right ones for you!

What if you woke up one morning and discovered your body was covered in an animal's scales, feathers, or fur instead of your own skin? How would that change your life? What If You Had Animal Scales!? is the next imaginative book in Sandra Markle's popular What If You Had series.

If you had a chinchilla's fur, you'd never need to worry about bug spray. If you had a hammerhead shark's scales, you'd be the fastest swimmer on the team! And if you had a honeybee's coat, you'd always bring home the biggest haul on Halloween.

Discover what your life would be like if you had these special coats -- and find out why your skin is just right for you!

Dive into the lives of orcas with Ranger Rick in this beginning reader with full-color photos of orcas in the wild What if you wished you were an orca? And then you became one? An orca is an amazing kind of whale. Could you eat like an orca? Sleep like an orca? Live in an orca family? And would you want to? Find out

Ranger Rick explorers can learn all about orcas in this reader full of fascinating facts, vivid wildlife photographs, a Wild Words glossary, and a hands-on activity about how to communicate like an orca

Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was an Orca is a Level One I Can Read, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

What if you woke up one morning and discovered you were living inside a wild animal's home instead of your own? How would that change your daily life? What If You Had an Animal Home!? is the next imaginative book in Sandra Markle's popular What If You Had...? series.

If you had a honeybee's home, you'd always have room service. If you had a meerkat's home, you'd play hide-and-seek for hours. And a hermit crab's home would follow you wherever you go! The animal kingdom has tons of amazing homes, but yours is pretty great, too!

Discover what your life would be like if you had these special animal homes--and find out why your home is just right for you!

What if you woke up one morning and you had sprouted animal feet overnight?

Sandra Markle's bestselling What If You Had... series is now a Level 2 reader! Perfect for kids just learning to read independently, this imaginative book explores what would happen if you looked in the mirror and saw animal feet instead of your own.

From a cheetah's fast feet to a mountain goat's nimble climbing hooves, to a fly's sticky feet -- discover what it would be like if you had one of these wild animal's feet. Each animal profile includes a photo as well as illustrations of kids with animal feet that are sure to make kids laugh!

What if you could spend a day with your favorite animals? What would you eat? How would you play? Would you ever want to leave?

Grab a fork and learn all about carnivorous dinosaurs in the third book in the Could You Ever... series! Learn all about what different meat-eating dinosaurs ate, when they lived, and more! This innovative book places kids right into the action as they learn all about these amazing creatures.

With imaginative, interactive text from bestselling author Sandra Markle and engaging art from Vanessa Morales, this book is sure to be a kid favorite!

Dig into the lives of lions with Ranger Rick in this beginning reader with full-color photos of lions in the wild What if you wished you were a lion? And then you became one? Could you eat like a lion? Sleep like a lion? Live in a lion family? And would you want to? Find out

Ranger Rick explorers can learn all about lions in this reader full of fascinating facts, vivid wildlife photographs, a Wild Words glossary, and a hands-on activity about practicing your lion-quick reflexes

Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Lion is a Level One I Can Read, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.