It's going to be a very busy day for the Animal Mechanics - a lorry full of ice cream has shed its load on the motorway, and everyone's getting very hot and bothered! Full of warm, witty details, A DAY WITH THE ANIMAL MECHANICS is the perfect picture book for any child who loves cars, engines - and ice cream! Other titles in the series: A DAY WITH THE ANIMAL DOCTORS, A DAY WITH THE ANIMAL FIREFIGHTERS and A DAY WITH THE ANIMAL BUILDERS.

Discovering the secrets of animal movement and what they can teach us Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes readers on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious. In turn, the latest discoveries about animal mechanics are inspiring scientists to invent robots and devices that move with similar elegance and efficiency. Hu follows scientists as they investigate a multitude of animal movements, from the undulations of sandfish and the way that dogs shake off water in fractions of a second to the seemingly crash-resistant characteristics of insect flight. Not limiting his exploration to individual organisms, Hu describes the ways animals enact swarm intelligence, such as when army ants cooperate and link their bodies to create bridges that span ravines. He also looks at what scientists learn from nature’s unexpected feats—such as snakes that fly, mosquitoes that survive rainstorms, and dead fish that swim upstream. As researchers better understand such issues as energy, flexibility, and water repellency in animal movement, they are applying this knowledge to the development of cutting-edge technology. Integrating biology, engineering, physics, and robotics, How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls demystifies the remarkable mechanics behind animal locomotion.

You've met the Animal Doctors and the Animal Firefighters-now meet the Animal Builders, as they construct the penguins' dream home. It's going to be amazing, with an ice rink, a helter-skelter and a swimming pool on the roof. But the builders have got a new apprentice. It's Donkey-and he's turning out to be a bit of a disaster.

Nee-naw! Nee-naw! Nee-naw! It's the Animal Firefighters to the rescue! New recruit, Firefighter Moose, is desperate to drive the fire engine, but he's not allowed to until he's got Experience. First he must learn to climb ladders, grapple with fire extinguishers - and go on a number of daring missions. His finest moment comes when he rescues twenty-seven guinea pigs from a top-floor flat. He wins an award for his Bravery and Initiative and at last he's allowed to drive the fire engine, too!

Beloved Companions, Kindred Spirits Karlene Stange’s spiritual journey began as she drove her pickup loaded with medical supplies to attend to animals throughout southwestern Colorado, where the Animas River carves the landscape. As an ambulatory veterinarian, she has experienced the challenges, sorrows, and joys of working with creatures great and small and feels a powerful kinship with these beautiful beings, a bond that goes beyond flesh and fur and feathers. The Spiritual Nature of Animals chronicles her amazing exploration through the teachings of various religious and cultural traditions, as well as her encounters with the magnificent Rocky Mountain terrain and the quirky characters — both animal and human — who inhabit it.

It's a big day for a small tapir, as he goes to work with Mummy at the Animal Hospital. Terence is going to be a doctor today-just like his mummy. Well, sort of. Terence's mummy is a proper doctor at the animal hospital. Terence is just a mischievous little tapir who causes an awful lot of chaos-in the nicest possible way. Full of warm, witty details and deadpan humour, this hilarious trot round the wards with the animal doctors will entertain every child who loves playing doctors and nurses.

Whether a side-street skirmish or an all-out war, fight scenes bring action to the pages of every kind of fiction. But a poorly done or unbelievable fight scene can ruin a great book in an instant. In Fight Write you'll learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic fight scenes for your fiction. Broken up into "Rounds," trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch guides you through the many factors you'll need to consider when developing battles and brawls. • In Round 1, you will consider how the Who, When, Where, and Why questions affect what type of fight scene you want to craft. • Round 2 delves into the human factors of biology (think fight or flight and adrenaline) and psychology (aggression and response to injuring or killing another person). • Round 3 explores different fighting styles that are appropriate for different situations: How would a character fight from a prone position versus being attacked in the street? What is the vocabulary used to describe these styles? • Round 4 considers weaponry and will guide you to select the best weapon for your characters, including nontraditional weapons of opportunity, while also thinking about the nitty-gritty details of using them. • In Round 5, you'll learn how to accurately describe realistic injuries sustained from the fights and certain weapons, and what kind of injuries will kill a character or render them unable to fight further. By taking into account where your character is in the world, when in history the fight is happening, what the character's motivation for fighting is, and much more, you'll be able write fight scenes unique to your plot and characters, all while satisfying your reader's discerning eye.

A strikingly original exploration of what it might mean to be authentically human in the age of artificial intelligence, from the author of the critically-acclaimed Interior States. • "At times personal, at times philosophical, with a bracing mixture of openness and skepticism, it speaks thoughtfully and articulately to the most crucial issues awaiting our future." —Phillip Lopate “[A] truly fantastic book.”—Ezra Klein For most of human history the world was a magical and enchanted place ruled by forces beyond our understanding. The rise of science and Descartes's division of mind from world made materialism our ruling paradigm, in the process asking whether our own consciousness—i.e., souls—might be illusions. Now the inexorable rise of technology, with artificial intelligences that surpass our comprehension and control, and the spread of digital metaphors for self-understanding, the core questions of existence—identity, knowledge, the very nature and purpose of life itself—urgently require rethinking. Meghan O'Gieblyn tackles this challenge with philosophical rigor, intellectual reach, essayistic verve, refreshing originality, and an ironic sense of contradiction. She draws deeply and sometimes humorously from her own personal experience as a formerly religious believer still haunted by questions of faith, and she serves as the best possible guide to navigating the territory we are all entering.

Dexter the kitten and his grandpa both love trains. Join them as they travel on every kind of train imaginable, from steam trains and sleepers to the Zebra Express, and learn all about how the railway works along the way. Dexter even gets to help Grandpa drive the Seaside Special! With so many witty, humorous details to explore, children will love this brand-new addition to Sharon Rentta's internationally award-winning A DAY WITH THE ANIMAL... series.

An ordinary day in an ordinary neighborhood turns out to be quite extraordinary in this moving story about the circle of life. It’s an average day in the neighborhood—children play, roses are watered, and a crow watches over it all. But then two visitors arrive at two houses, one to help a family say hello to a new baby and one to help a family say goodbye to a beloved pet. This sensitive picture book takes a gentle look at life, death, the bonds of family, and the extraordinary moments that make ordinary days so special.