Coyotes are wily, secretive and extremely adaptive -- what young reader wouldn't be fascinated? Familiar to kids and adults alike through its many appearances in folk and popular culture, the multicolored coyote has the gray wolf to thank for its survival. As humans eliminated wolf populations across the continent over the last century, the coyote easily filled the gap. Today it is the most successful and most numerous large predator in North America. It makes its homes not only in the wild but increasingly in suburbs and even urban centers -- the coyote is wary of humans but is quite willing to enter the human world in pursuit of food. The coyote has a curious blend of characteristics that it shares with its dog-family relatives, the wolf and the red fox. Like the red fox, it has graceful, catlike movements. Like the wolf, it can hunt in packs but may also hunt on its own or with a partner. Exploring the World of Coyotes explains how the wily coyote achieved such great success, from its elaborate communication skills, mate selection and family life to its adaptive life skills and physical characteristics. The Exploring the World of... series is written for young readers who are curious about the natural world and the appealing creatures that inhabit it. Like its companion titles, Exploring the World of Coyotes is packed with facts and offer outstanding value.

High flight with North America's mighty eagles. Only two kinds of eagles live in North America, the bald eagle and the golden eagle. These majestic birds belong to the same family and share many physical traits and behaviors, but there are also important differences between them. In this fully illustrated introduction, young readers will discover why the bald eagle lives along the coastlines of oceans, lakes and rivers while the golden eagle prefers mountainous regions, prairies and plains. They'll learn about the impressive nest-building skills of these two raptors and their courtship displays, mating patterns and fierce hunting styles. Full-color photographs provide close-ups and action shots of these aerial performers, while the engaging text, sidebars and captions offer insights into the life history of two of the world's most powerful winged predators. Firefly Books' Exploring the World of... nature series was created for younger readers who are eager to learn more about the wild creatures of North America. Each title contains beautiful photographs that depict the animals in their natural habitats, while the highly readable text explores their daily lives -- where and how they make their homes, what they eat, how they hunt, how they communicate and how they raise their young.

A glimpse inside the daily life of nature's masked bandits. Children find the bandit-masked face and button nose of a raccoon irresistibly cute, and catching a glimpse of one in a neighborhood tree never fails to excite. Raccoons describes the natural history of these cousins of the panda bear and explains how that heritage helps them thrive in cities as well as in fields and woodlands. Color photographs of adults and kits in urban and natural settings give readers the chance to look more closely at these elusive creatures, and children will enjoy the amusing descriptions of the raccoon's antics and mischief. But Raccoons also shows youngsters why they shouldn't feed these brazen visitors and that, even though they share our cities and towns, raccoons will always be wild animals. In the Exploring the World of... series, Firefly Books is pleased to present an exciting new nature series produced especially for young readers who are eager to learn more about the wild animals they find especially appealing. The books are packed with facts and offer outstanding value. Clear text in large type and vivid photographs with explanatory captions describe the animals' physical attributes, and storylike narratives about their daily life -- where they live, what they eat, how they hunt, how they communicate, how they raise their young -- present a complete picture of each animal.