Roosting in tall branches, the great horned owl owns the night. With giant eyes that take up much of its skull, the owl can see well enough at night to catch a mouse over great distance. This common hunter can be heard at night, hooting to other owls with two horn-like feathered tufts on the sides of its head. With full-color photographs and approachable text, this book shows readers how this owl lives and hunts for its prey in even the darkest night.

Great horned owls are some of the most well-known owls in North and South America. Many people recognize their hoot! In this carefully leveled early reader, kids will learn all about great horned owls’ appearance, hunting strategies, and young. Special features draw attention to the owls’ diet, life cycle, and more. A table of contents, glossary, and index help readers practice nonfiction reading skills.

Whether fierce, cuddly, startling, mysterious, or some indefinable combination of all of the above, nocturnal animals never fail to fascinate. In Nocturne: Creatures of the Night, celebrated animal photographer Traer Scott takes the viewer on a journey through nighttime in the animal kingdom, revealing some of nature's most elusive creatures. Bats, big cats, flying squirrels, tarantula, owls, kangaroo mice, giant moths, sloth, several species of snakes, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach are only a few of the animals illuminated in these lushly detailed portraits. Seventy-five full-color photographs of forty different species are accompanied by informed but accessible descriptions of each animal's habits and habitats, and an introduction provides personal insight into how Scott captures her astonishing images. Nocturne is a compelling view of the rarely seen darkness dwellers who populate the night.

Slamming their jaw shut with a force that can reach over 3,000 pounds per square inch, crocodiles have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom. This sneaky killer is known for drifting slowly, pretending to be a log. When it finds its prey, the crocodile snaps down on it, using special techniques to kill it. Young readers will love discovering how this massive, semi-aquatic reptile uses its quick and deadly strike to catch even the fastest prey.

Mounted police trained to track the criminally insane must hunt serial killers in this volume featuring the first four books in the Special X thriller series. The Special X team of the Royal Canadian police are experts at decoding the criminal mind—and hardened by years of confronting the most heinous of murderers. From serial killers driven by demons as dark as Jack the Ripper’s to psychopaths with a penchant for gruesome displays of their victims, no evil is too sinister for the agents of Special X. At least, not yet. . . . This collection features the first four thrillers of the Special X series: Headhunter, Ripper, Bed of Nails, and Hangman Praise for the Special X series “Michael Slade’s books are blood-chilling, spine-tingling, gut-wrenching, stomach-churning, and a much closer look at the inside of a maniac’s brain than most people would find comfortable, but always riveting.” —Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series “Extraordinarily vivid. A thinking man’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” —The Vancouver Sun “Highly enjoyable.” —Time Out, London “Slade knows psychos inside out.” —Toronto Star “A get-under-your-skin thriller with machine-gun dialogue and impressive real-world research. It’s one heck of a ride.” —CNN.com “As always with Slade, a cracking good detective story.” —Anne Perry, New York Times–bestselling author of the Thomas Pitt series “Murder with gore galore, and a killer who enjoys his hobby.” —The Globe and Mail (Toronto) “Michael Slade is a writer who clearly knows how to tell a story and make it real.” —Robert McCammon, New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song and the Matthew Corbett series