I love nature, and bugs are fascinating
925275
I love nature, and bugs are fascinating. I saw these in a boutique once, and fell in love. It wasn't until recently that I remembered them and checked for them on Amazon- voila! Here they are! And at a great price. These are beautiful and unique cards; perfect for thank-you's or just-because notes.
4171096
Margaret Lowman is a gifted biologist with a knack for finding ways to teach others the importance of her field and the need for conservation.  Her adventures range from the humorous to the frightening and are guaranteed to hold the reader's interest.  I held off a five-star rating only because I would have liked a little more information on some of the animals she's studied.  Her impressions of Nature's little-known and often-overlooked creatures are valuable and fascinating, and I wish more space had been devoted to them.  That's a minor quibble, though.  As a writer on nature myself, I came away from reading this book with an improved understanding of how complex the "web of life" is,  not to mention a determination to get my own children out into the forests more often.
2833472
I appreciate that the illustration of bugs are hand painted works in stead of photographs. Inspiring for kids of going outside and looking for there beautiful creatures, then create your own art work of drawing them.
The book arrived in great condition.
2304926
This is an interesting book if you're fascinated by nature -- esp. insects, birds and bees.  I did learn quite a bit but would have liked to know more about the author's life.  Tho she lived in the Ozarks, I've read she resides in Maine and D.C.?  She writes she is quite poor however she has written many books?  That said  -- she is a good writer and often witty.  I appreciated what a tough woman she is/was.  I also appreciated her love of nature (but less about insects, etc).  At times, I felt she was a bit defensive about her choices in life and also bragging a bit.  At the very end she wrote a bit disparagingly  about folks who watch TV, vote Republican, etc.  I would have preferred her to keep her personal opinions about life choices out of this book.  I believe she is very talented and an interesting writer tho a bit of an intellectual "elitist".  Nonetheless, I am glad I read the book if for no other reason than I won't worry about Termites or Recluse Spiders much anymore!!!
550509
I'm a girl who actually loves bugs. They are so beneficial to the environment. I welcome them.

I love this adorable house. It's very solid and the bugs love it!

At first I had a hard time getting them in but I sprayed it with sugar water and they came in droves.

Even if you don't like bugs this is an adorable accent piece for any porch or garden.

I was selected to review this product at a discount. My reviews are based on quality and performance and are never manipulated or compensated in any way.
4278439
I was surprised to find how compelling this book was.  I had always enjoyed observing and feeding the variety of birds that visited my Maine backyard.  When I moved to New Mexico, a friend was discussing Mind of the Raven, and I was curious, but I found after I read this book that I wanted to know more about the ravens and other worlds Heinrich explores.  In Mind of the Raven, Heinrich focuses on the innate ability the Raven has in solving problems, building social relationships, establishing dominance, and much more.  From a freezing pile of brush, at the top of a towering pine tree,  from the treacherous cliff or in his large constructed pen for these marvelous creatures,  this naturalist observes for hours on end.  The reader is there as he tromps through the snow, dragging a carcass or when he builds these blinds.  I had to move to New Mexico to hear about this writer, who studies these ravens in Maine as well as New Hampshire.  Living up 7500 feet in New Mexico, I have many opportunities to observe these creatures soaring over the canyons and stalking the litter in parking lots, and thanks to Heinrich I have some understanding and appreciation for these curious creatures.
355308
As a person who loves nature, and an environmentalist who has a deep feeling for biodiversity, I LOVED this book.  Couldn't put it down. Sat in a chair from morning til night, getting up only for bare essentials, until I'd finished it. Gave it to my friends and they raved about it. Just the title, Mother of God, had intrigued me because, whatever people meant when they named this tributary of the Amazon Madre de Dios, the name infers to me how a rainforest river is the birthplace of an explosion of life. I liked the author a lot.  His explorations are courageous, his story is amazing, he is an excellent writer.  His desire to be a scientist, but live and write as a lover of what he studies is on the right course. This book is how I want to be taken to the Amazon or any other wild place as a reader. It made me want to go there, despite snakes, crocodiles and mosquitoes. His recent exploit, after the book was published, of trying to get eaten by an Anaconda for a film (which can be seen on YouTube)is not on a right course. Perhaps the great success of his book has gone to his head. I was appalled, but scientists and environmentalists alike often have to figure out whether they are going to promote the environment or promote themselves; save nature or exploit it for fame; live one's life or make an exhibition of it. Rosolie is young, he has all the makings of a great modern explorer, he has time to make mistakes and learn from them. I hope he survives whatever attack of terrible judgement caused him to undertake getting swallowed by an anaconda, that he continues his documentation of the wild Amazonian rainforest, lives humbly and writes more books like this.
886819
Being an obessed Macro photographer I love looking at pictures. ANY kind. I had recived this book as a wonderful gift from my aunt. It makes you realize there are smaller things out there to take photographs of. After going through the entire book and drooling over the photographs for over an hour I wanted to grab my camera and go look for bugs just like those! You can probably find similar bugs in your own backyard!

As a macro photographer I found this book inspiring and makes me less afraid of spiders that's for sure! 400 up-close and personal photographs of all types of bugs. You will not be disappointed with this book. The photographs and information on the bugs and creatures is fasinating and entertaining to read!
2929394
A nice surprise for my husband.  I shared my old one with another bug lover.  Easy to use.  There are so many insects that are included in this book.  No all of course.  Beautiful photos and wonderful descriptions.
2519308
In retrospect, bringing The Mystery of Metamorphosis on vacation wasn't a brilliant idea. While it is accessible to non-science readers like me, it's still not exactly fluffy. (Trying to pay full attention while slapping away mosquitoes probably meant that I missed some of the finer points.)

That said, author Frank Ryan takes us a fascinating journey into one of the strangest phenomena in biology: metamorphosis. Since I didn't know much about the subject, I loved the opening chapters describing just how weird and unintuitive the process is. Caterpillars don't slowly morph into butterflies inside their chrysalises; they sort of turn into a primordial goo from which a completely new animal is assembled. One quirky sea star, the Luidia, starts off as a swimming, bilaterally symmetrical larva. The radial adult form grows within its tissues and emerges to become an independent organism with a completely different body plan and life cycle. In other animals, the adult form devours or discards the larva's organs. And in still other animals, including octopuses, no metamorphosis takes place at all.

You don't have to be an evolutionary biologist to wonder how metamorphosis can possibly fit into the traditional Darwinian model of gradual change and adaptation over generations. The Mystery of Metamorphosis explores British planktologist Don Williamson's controversial theory that metamorphosis could be the result of long-ago hybridizations between completely different species. Although solid molecular evidence has yet to be found, Frank Ryan lays out Williamson's experiments and results, and builds up, if nothing else, a persuasive argument for further investigation.

I found the second part of the book, which deals with the mechanisms of metamorphosis and their triggers, less interesting. It's all about the process of scientific testing and discovery, specifically the appropriately named Vincent Wigglesworth's Frankenstein-ish experiments on insects. (My ears did perk up when I learned that our resulting knowledge of juvenile hormone could be applied towards mosquito control.) In later parts of the book, Ryan goes on to look briefly at amphibians, the Cambrian explosion, and even human development in the light of metamorphosis through hybridization.

The Mystery of Metamorphosis is not always an easy read, but it is chock full of new ideas to think about -- some of them still in development and with the potential to seriously shake up evolutionary science as we know it.
2530309
I should start by saying, I too grew up in the Pacific Northwest, running through the woods, getting dirty in streams, and seeing wildlife all around me.  That being said, I truly loved this book as it reminded me of my make believe adventures in the woods.

The idea of delving in and looking through the eyes of creatures that exist in the insect realm of the forest was fantastic.  The story is both engaging and the trials and tribulations encountered are ones that will hopefully entice all readers of this book to think about the forest and all of its many inhabitants in a new way.
231797
This is not a toy, but it sure is fun to swat flys like I'm knocking it out of the park. When I hear that sweet zap sound I feel like more of a man, and the protector of my home. Sometimes it only half kills the bug and they fall to the floor twitching. I will then press the zapper on them to inflict a quick finishing blow. Unless the fly has enraged me by repeatedly evading my swings. In that case I stand over them, taunting them in their final moments of agony.
So yeah this fly swatter is awesome.
4656822
Well, first full disclosure: I was predisposed to like this book as the author is a family friend, and my husband was one of the editors on Hood. And like it I did.

I am not a biotech type or a scientist, nor have I bothered to follow the business end of science. But I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of scientists and have a friend who is a cancer researcher. So getting to peek inside the workaday world of science was a treat. Sometimes a dismaying reality check, but mostly a treat.

I had another reason to read this book, too. I benefited directly from the work of Lee Hood and all the others who have struggled valiantly to understand the mysteries of science and the human body. As a cancer patient, I was able to have a genomic/genetic expressions test that shed a lot of light on the nature of the cancer and what we needed to do, and not do. That was amazing in and of itself, and possibly a life-saver, definitely a quality-of-life-saver. So to the ladies and gentlemen of science, and the occasional spoiled so-and-so, my husband and I extend our deepest thanks.

And to you, Luke, thank you for taking us all on this journey. Journalists meet so many interesting people. It is a joy to get to go along with you behind the scenes. You did a good job of helping me feel the fresh air and sense of possibilities in Montana, the loneliness of the boy who drove himself to a new life in another state, the intensity and, yes, fun, of Caltech, and the driven but often frustrating days in Seattle. And thank you, Luke and Dr. Hood, for the sense of wonder you each carry with you  the passion and delight of science and exploration, and for your commitment to education. By telling these stories, Luke Timmerman reminds us all of our shared humanity and common ground  something we need to remember these days.

One note  this puppy is really a soap opera, so if you are a non-science type like me, read it for the story, not to learn something. You will still learn a lot, but youll have more fun doing it!
4737814
It's great fun to watch the flies do cart wheels and tumble around as the poison gets to them. My evil side is reserved for flies; there were too many one summer and this supplied the added benefit of entertainment. Imagine some very bored moms sitting on the patio in lawn chairs with glasses of Chardonay, watching the kiddies play on the lawn and the flies on a paper plate with cat food sprinkled with some of this stuff. Every time one would land, we'd get excited to see what it would do once it's little proboscis had felt around for, and found, a little red pellet. This summer, I don't have as many flies, but this stuff still has entertainment value, although I never thought I would wish for *more flies* so I could see if the next one imitated a bouncing pin wheel or merely flew in tight circles on it's back. A little goes a very long way; you can throw the whole paper plate in the trash after you get tired of watching. Not all will fly away and die somewhere else, so clean up is always a must.
2671064
When I was young, my neighbor told me that when she was a child in early 20th century Philadelphia, she thought that a tree was a particular kind of plant and that was that.  Imagine her amazement the first time she left the city and discovered that there were what seemed to be an infinite variety of trees!

Joan Maloof takes the reader to the next level.  She explains that far from each tree being merely a unique organism, that each tree is an entire ecosystem; indeed, that each tree is an interdependent universe of organisms that depend on each other in the most unimaginably wonderful and intricate ways.

I have spent my entire life in a rural area surrounded by trees, yet reading this book awakened a new curiosity, a new appreciation, a need to explore and learn that I never felt before.

Anyone will be enriched by reading "Teaching the Trees", but for the young person steeped in consumer culture who thinks that trees are for shade or lumber and that "bugs" are pests, it could be a life-changing experience, leading to an appreciation of the wonders of the forest, and perhaps a lifetime of study and enjoyment of the miracles of nature.
3561490
I am always so amazed at the beauty and quality of books produced by New Leaf Publishing Group and its imprint Master Books. When you factor this in with top notch scientific information and evidence and Biblical focus, you have an unsurpassable product.

What little boy, middle grade boy or even older doesnt have an innate fascination for bugs and insects. I know my two sons would absolutely have loved this book when they were growing up. Well, even girls like bugs, too. Well, some girls. Now, about the book.....

The author William Zinke presents first of all the fact that "bugs are insects, BUT not all insects are bugs." And then he goes on to explain different categories of bugs.

Amazing Creepy Crawlers
Jumbo Giants
Weird & Wonderful
Bugs in Camo!
Bizarre and Beautiful

And there are lists of Words to Know.... Entomology, Exoskeleton, Decomposers, Mandibles, Metamorphosis, Thorax, Setae, etc. And he has also included some tear out cards that can be used as flash cards for quick recognition and learning names and facts.

The photographs are absolutely stunning. Now I wouldnt go so far as to say I loved the bugs and insects, because I have this phobia about all things creepy and crawly. But kids need to learn and this book sure gives them a wonderful peak into the world of entomology.

I just love the way Master Books focuses on God the Creator and how He created each of these bugs with a distinct purpose and how they are wonderfully designed for the job they do.

And even though bugs just simply aren't "my thing," I recognize that God has a purpose for them and His Word says that everything God created was beautiful in His sight.

I highly recommend this book for kids of all ages, libraries of all types, and folks of all kith and kin.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Master Books A Division of New Leaf Publishing Group in exchange for this review. Opinions expressed are solely my own. I received no compensation for this review.
1136045
A very beautiful book, for biology, photographers and nature lovers.