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Extreme Nature by Mark Carwardine ( HarperResource , 2005)

Ages 9 and up

Older kids will find Extreme Nature endlessly fascinating. Each entry is an award-winning species, with awards made up by the author.

For example, "Strangest Shape Shifter" goes to the cellular slime mold, a single-celled microbe that, in times of stress, unites with others of its kind to form a slug.

Each species gets a full-page color photograph and a full-page description. The writing is enthusiastic and vivid without being cheesy - the author shows genuine, contagious amazement and respect for nature's adaptations. This is a beautiful book kids will come back to again and again.

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