Squirrels of North America by Tamara Eder, 2009, Lone Pine Publishing, $16.95, softbound, 160 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: brilliant. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
Designed to help you learn about and identify the squirrels in your backyard, this book covers 66 species, all of whom are grouped and colour-coded.
There's a quick reference guide in the beginning of the book, where you will find a small colour drawing of each species and the page number on which you will find more information.
Eder offers a few tips on observing squirrels, and gives an overview of the science of squirrels.
Each group begins with information about that group as well as a clear drawing of paw prints and a typical nest or burrow. Individual species have a diagrammed drawing, map, habitat icon, and statistics. To help you clarify your identification, similar species are shown.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
Birds of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area by Adam Scott Kennedy, 2014, Princeton University Press, $16.59, softbound, 224 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: quite nice. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
Filled with full-colour photographs, this book is a must for bird lovers who want to safari in Africa.
The book is habitat-based: readers are intended to look up the birds they see based on the habitat they're in at the time of the encounter. There's a section on the habitats you'll find in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, including plains, woodland, and Lake Victoria.
Whenever possible, Kennedy has provided pictures of a male and female of the species, and breeding and non-breeding plumage; plus, there are depictions of birds in flight.
Information on birds is particularly interesting; for example, rollers (such as the Eurasian roller and the lilac-breasted roller) get their name from the 'loop-the-loop' display flights they perform.
If you like this one, try: Animals of the Serengeti, by Adam Scott Kennedy and Vicki Kennedy.
Hero Worship by Christopher E Long, 2014, Flux, $9.99, softbound, 233 pages. Category/Genre: fantasy. Cover: pretty cool. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
In what seems to be a new trend, this is a comic book in novel format. It's set in a world in which superhero powers are fairly commonplace. The Clean Powers Act established a department with the authority to certify powers as 'clean' or 'dirty.' Those people with volatile powers are called 'dirties,' and are not allowed to make a living off their powers.
Marvin Maywood is a dirty, but he lives clean. He wants nothing more than to join the Core, a well-loved group of superheroes led by Lieutenant Mercury.
Then one day Marvin meets Eliza, the youngest member of the Core, and everything changes.
Some good action, and good powers.
Note: strong language; rape scene.
If you like this one, try: Karma Girl, by Jennifer Estep.
