Masters of Disguise: Amazing Animal Tricksters

by Rebecca L. Johnson Narrated by Book Buddy Digital Media

Overview

In the animal kingdom, survival is the name of the game-and not everything is as it seems. A number of animals rely on particularly clever tricks to fool predators or prey. A baby bird mimics a poisonous caterpillar. A moth escapes bats by making sounds that interfere with the bats' echolocation. A tiny rain forest spider builds a big spider "puppet" out of bits of dead leaves, insect parts, and other items. Find out more about some of nature's most bizarre and bloodthirsty con artists and meet the scientists who are working to figure out just how they pull off their amazing tricks.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"[M]ost of the lineup here will be new even to well-read young naturalists. . . . [R]eaders are going to want to know more after these tantalizing glimpses. . . . [A] truly astonishing look at some of nature's most ingenious predatory or survival strategies."—starred, Kirkus Reviews

School Library Journal

04/01/2016
Gr 4–7—Duped! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Animals have long developed fantastic traits and abilities, or disguises, to help them survive and navigate their environment. Johnson hooks readers with gripping descriptions, close-up photographs, and profiles of the various scientists dedicated to studying these animals. Each creature and scientist combo is given four pages—just enough to whet readers' appetites. As Johnson includes more recent discoveries (Cyclosa, the "puppeteer spider," was discovered only in 2012), readers will feel the rush of learning something before anyone else. Scientists working in both field and lab are presented in candid photographs. With an almost equal number of men and women scientists featured, this work makes it easy for today's students to picture themselves in similar scientific shoes. VERDICT This exciting and easy-to-digest title will make for an excellent purchase and addition to booktalk lists.—Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2015-12-22
Disguises are common in nature, but here, Johnson puts the spotlight on nine creatures who take mimicry or camouflage to a whole different level. From a rain-forest bird called the cinereous mourner, whose fuzzy orange chicks not only look but even move like a certain poisonous caterpillar, to a small spider that builds a big, eerily realistic spider-shaped "puppet" from found materials, most of the lineup here will be new even to well-read young naturalists. Most are also both recent discoveries and the subjects of ongoing study, and after profiling the distinctive capabilities or behaviors of each animal, the author follows up with a "Science behind the Story" introduction to the findings and hypotheses of zoologists engaged in that research. Along with portraits of these scientists in their natural settings (indoors and out), the excellent photos offer revealing views of each insect or other trickster, of select body parts, and of characteristic predators or prey. Rightly expecting that readers are going to want to know more after these tantalizing glimpses, the author closes with professional source notes as well as leads to further general information in print and on the Web. From an assassin bug's "Coat of Many Corpses" on, a truly astonishing look at some of nature's most ingenious predatory or survival strategies. (index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171855895
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Videos