Tracing the global trade and trafficking in animals that supplied U.S. zoos, Daniel Bender shows how Americans learned to view faraway places through the lens of exotic creatures on display. He recounts the public’s conflicted relationship with zoos, decried as prisons by activists even as they remain popular centers of education and preservation.

Man is threatened only by fellow man. Great is that threat because man, throughout history, has fought fellow man. All impactful nations of our world fight other nations and must spend enormously because they must be ready to fight. It seems that we cannot outgrow fighting. This book imagines a world in which man does not engage in war. Animals are surrogates, and only animals engage in fighting to the death. Such practice is beneath civilized man, but he is not totally removed. Humans are obsessed with watching animals fight to the death. The animals do not mind. What happens when kids try it? Once the passion for fierce fighting enters the blood, can humans resist the urge to engage in war? Yes, they are superior to animals, but can humans refrain from doing the thing they believed they were too smart to ever do?

What can we learn from watching animals play? Dogs chase each other and wrestle. Cats pounce and bite. These animals may look like they are fighting, but if you pay close attention— as world-renowned biologist Marc Bekoff does—you can see they are playing and learning the rules of their games. In Animals at Play, Bekoff shows us how animals behave when they play, with full-color illustrations showing animals in action and having fun—from squirrels climbing up a tree to polar bears somersaulting in the snow. Bekoff emphasizes how animals communicate, cooperate and learn to play fair and what happens when they break the rules. He uses lively illustrations and simple explanations of what it means when a sea lion swims with kelp in its mouth or when two dogs bow to each other. Bekoff also describes what happens when animals become too aggressive and how they apologize, forgive and learn to trust one another. This entertaining and informative book will delight every child and show readers how animals—and humans—interact when they are having fun.

Man is threatened only by fellow man. Great is that threat because man, throughout history, has fought fellow man. All impactful nations of our world fight other nations and must spend enormously because they must be ready to fight. It seems that we cannot outgrow fighting. This book imagines a world in which man does not engage in war. Animals are surrogates, and only animals engage in fighting to the death. Such practice is beneath civilized man, but he is not totally removed. Humans are obsessed with watching animals fight to the death. The animals do not mind. What happens when kids try it? Once the passion for fierce fighting enters the blood, can humans resist the urge to engage in war? Yes, they are superior to animals, but can humans refrain from doing the thing they believed they were too smart to ever do?

A truly one-of-a-kind book. What animal is made up of three billiard balls, five feather dusters and dinosaur feet? … An ostrich, of course! In this book, young readers are asked to guess the animal using a list of unexpected bits and pieces as clues. The concept of this book is inspired by the ways old natural histories explained and illustrated exotic animals. Little-known animals were described as a hodgepodge of parts taken from familiar creatures and vegetation. Beavers, for example, were described as being composed of a flounder, an otter, goose feet, squirrel paws and a rabbit’s front teeth. Tricky, right? Well, not to worry! Opening the gatefold will reveal the animal — and lots of cool facts about it! Are you ready for your first Beastly Puzzle?

On an animal farm located high in eastern Pennsylvania, next to the dark forest, the farm animals like to pass the time by playing a game of tag, led by the farmer's two Shih Tzu dogs, Omni and Baby. A six-foot fence surrounds the farm, which the farmer put up to protect his animals from the bigger and meaner animals who live in the dark forest. The farmer calls them bullies because they all pick on the farm animals. One day, the farmer is working in the lower fields, and the farm animals are playing the game, when suddenly, a big hungry coyote leaps up onto the six-foot fence. He looks at all the farm animals who are frozen with fear. Omni and Baby know that they have to band the animals together and have enough faith to send the worst bully back to the dark forest with the help of an unsuspecting friend.