In the second of Solomon Screech Owl's stories, Sollie travels, with help from some whales, to the Galapagos Islands, where he meets birds that seem very different from himself. As he gets to know them better, he comes to understand that they all have more in common than he first thought.

In the second of Solomon Screech Owl's stories, Sollie travels, with help from some whales, to the Galapagos Islands, where he meets birds that seem very different from himself. As he gets to know them better, he comes to understand that they all have more in common than he first thought. About the author & illustrator: Beth and Kathy, with their husbands Mel Lancione and Gary Haney, visited the Galapagos Islands in 2005 and saw, at very close range, all of the fascinating creatures that Sollie encounters in this book. Beth says, "A fellow traveler once told me, 'If you go only one place in your life, go to Galapagos.' I agree. I've been to many other places, but Galapagos is my favorite. I definitely wanted to show Sollie, and all of our readers, the wonders of these special, unique islands." Kathy says, "The Galapagos Islands are home to some of the earth's unique birds and animals. There are few places in the world where you can have an up close and personal interaction with wild creatures. The Blue-Footed Boobies captured our imaginations, along with the iguanas, tortoises, and many other birds. We want to share our love of Galapagos with you."

Soar with Solomon Screech Owl as he takes his "First Flight" on a grand adventure. This inquisitive, feisty little bird is sure that there must be a big world beyond his tree branch, and he sets out, with the help of some other species, on a quest to see all that this world has to show him. About the author and illustrator: Beth Lancione, of Etters, PA, retired from a long career in public education and began what she hopes will be a long second career as an author of children's books. The Solomon Screech Owl stories, conceived as an eight book series in which Sollie will visit the seven continents in his quest to see all that the world has to show him, was inspired by Beth's love for her grandchildren, her enjoyment of adventurous travel, and her experiences working with owls as a volunteer at a rescue facility for injured birds of prey. Kathy Haney, a retired high school art teacher, resides in Salem, Oregon. She is an active award-winning artist, creating drawings and watercolor paintings, designing posters, and illustrating books. An area of special interest for her is early childhood literacy, having taught young parents the value of reading to their infants, volunteering in Guatemala's efforts to increase literacy in indigenous peoples, and proudly being the first person to read a book to her grandchildren. Kathy and her husband, Gary, love to travel, and much of her artwork reflects the peoples and cultures they encountered. She is excited to share the adventure of travel with Solomon's readers. Beth and Kathy have been friends since high school. The Solomon Screech Owl series is their first literary collaboration.

In the third of Solomon Screech Owl's stories, Sollie travels to the bottom of the world, exploring the Antarctic where he meets many of the strange and wonderful creatures that dwell there.

Soar with Solomon Screech Owl as he takes his "first flight" on a grand adventure. This inquisitive, feisty little bird is sure that there must be a big world beyond his tree branch, and he sets out, with the help of some other species, on a quest to see all that this world has to show him.

In the fifth of Solomon Screech Owl's stories, Sollie travels to the southeast Asia where he explores ancient ruins and meets many wonderful creatures that dwell there.

How do you come up with the idea to list all the birds in the world including the subspecies and to give all birds English names? There is a reason for it - my favorite saying, whose author is unknown: "Everyone said that ́s not possible - then there was one who did not know that and just did it!" I am an animal photographer and probably a little bit crazy. I ́ve built a complete animal database for mammals and birds over the last decade. This facilitates my work in determining and archiving images and assigning keywords, especially among the many subspecies. With this book, I would like to give all birding friends and ornithologists a complete overview in English. For this I have given unique English names to all subspecies. The naming should not meet any scientific requirements. The names are based on translations from the Latin name, geographical distribution areas and the names of the discoverers. The entries consist of the scientific name, the English name, the distribution areas and the author. I wish you a lot of fun with this book, but especially while watching the fascinating birdlife. fotolulu