This Phenomenal Life is one of our favourite books! It’s packed with science facts on how the world works, yet colourful and entertaining and funny at the same time. This books the story of the wondrous ways that humans are at one with our surrounding world.
From the vast galaxies above to the miniature microbes within, humans are organically connected to nature. Every single atom of our body is made of remnants of stars, and massive explosions in the galaxy. And we share the same biochemical basis of life with all living beings (from a single-celled amoeba to a giant blue whale).
In this book, you’ll learn how we are related to mushrooms, and share the way that birds communicate. Beautiful art will inspire you to look at the world in a whole new way.
I have a new favourite book in the universe. It explodes with the wonders of creation, and the beauty of being alive. Rainn Wilson
Covering everything from the Big Bang to plant neurotransmitters, this book is a sweet-spirited reminder that all humans are more alike than different, and the entire cosmos is connected. Publishers Weekly
Misha Maynerick Blaise is a writer and artist, who runs a green building company with her husband in Texas, USA.
Misha’s Crazy Book on Birds!
We also love Misha’s other book Crazy for Birds which again makes learning about our feathered friends incredibly fun. From the blue-footed booby (who shows his feet to female birds – whoever has the brightest blue feet gets the girl!) To showing how chickens are related to dinosaurs. Learning about birds has never been so interesting!
Learn of birds like the common swift (which can stay in the air for up to 10 months, even sleeping on the wing) and the tiny goldcrest (Europe’s smallest bird, which lays eggs more than its own body weight).
Contents
- Eggs
- Feathers
- Flight
- Birds in love
- Nests
- Song
- Adaptation
The world abounds with a spectacular diversity of birds; feathered, egg-laying winged vertebrates that live on all seven continents. There are more than ten thousand living species of birds in the world. Including the very groovy curl-crested aracari, It actually looks like he has a perm! And the California Quail (this little bird has a little dangle thing coming off his head, for crying out loud!)
Birds live virtually everywhere on earth. A few bird species can be found on nearly every continent. Barn swallows can fly over 600 miles a day. Mallard ducks are cutie classics. Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (found in Antarctica) can locate nests by smells in the dark.
Barn owls only make screeches (no hooting). It preys on rats and voles, and swallows them whole. Whimbrels are known as ‘elephant birds due to their long bills. And ospreys have very intense eyes (like scary, intense).
The most common bird in the world is the chicken. One cool breed of chicken from Java is Ayam Cemani. With the exception of its red blood, every other part of this chicken is black, including its tongue, internal organs, bones, skin and eggs!
