A literary triumph by one of Mexico's most promising young authors, Red Ants is the first ever literary translation from the Sierra Zapotec. This vibrant collection of short stories by Pergentino José updates magical realism for the 21st century. Red Ants paints a candid picture of indigenous Mexican life -- an essential counterpoint to cultural products of the colonial gaze. José's fantastical stories tackle themes of family, love, and independence in his signature style: unapologetically personal, coolly emotional, and always surprising.

Hope is hard to come by in the hard-luck town of Willow Creek. Sam Pickett and five young men are about to change that. Sam Pickett never expected to settle in this dried-up shell of a town on the western edge of the world. He's come here to hide from the violence and madness that have shattered his life, but what he finds is what he least expects. There's a spirit that endures in Willow Creek, Montana. It seems that every inhabitant of this forgotten outpost has a story, a reason for taking a detour to this place--or a reason for staying. As the coach of the hapless high school basketball team (zero wins, ninety-three losses), Sam can't help but be moved by the bravery he witnesses in the everyday lives of people--including his own young players--bearing their sorrows and broken dreams. How do they carry on, believing in a future that seems to be based on the flimsiest of promises? Drawing on the strength of the boys on the team, sharing the hope they display despite insurmountable odds, Sam finally begins to see a future worth living. Author Stanley Gordon West has filled the town of Willow Creek with characters so vividly cast that they become real as relatives, and their stories--so full of humor and passion, loss and determination--illuminate a path into the human heart.

Hypnotic short stories of life in the Southwest that “emanate suspense, inspiring page-turning tension” (The Washington Times). A young woman is pushed, quite literally, to the edge on a desolate mountain pass. An orphaned brother and sister try to patch together an existence one stitch at a time. A cop suspects his kleptomaniac wife is stealing from other people—materially and emotionally. A girl waits to meet the sexual predator who has been calling her. A wily roadside hypnotist seems to possess a power both wonderful and strange. Set amid Indian reservations, uranium mills, and other locations across the American Southwest, these twelve stories by the author of Yellowcake—chosen as one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews—create a kaleidoscopic view of family, myth, love, landscape, and loss in a place where infinite skies and endless roads suggest a world of possibility, yet dreams are deceiving, like an oasis, just beyond reach.

In this witty, accessible, and beautifully illustrated guide, Eleanor Spicer Rice, Alex Wild, and Rob Dunn metamorphose creepy-crawly revulsion into myrmecological wonder. Dr. Eleanor?s Book of Common Ants provides an eye-opening entomological overview of the natural history of species most noted by project participants. Exploring species from the spreading red imported fire ant to the pavement ant, and featuring Wild?s stunning photography, this guide will be a tremendous resource for teachers, students, and scientists alike. But more than this, it will transform the way we perceive the environment around us by deepening our understanding of its littlest inhabitants, inspiring everyone to find their inner naturalist, get outside, and crawl across the dirt?magnifying glass in hand.

Walter Tschinkel’s passion for fire ants has been stoked by over thirty years of exploring the rhythm and drama of Solenopsis invicta’s biology. Since South American fire ants arrived in Mobile, Alabama, in the 1940s, they have spread to become one of the most reviled pests in the Sunbelt. In The Fire Ants, Tschinkel provides not just an encyclopedic overview of S. invicta—how they found colonies, construct and defend their nests, forage and distribute food, struggle among themselves for primacy, and even relocate entire colonies—but a lively account of how research is done, how science establishes facts, and the pleasures and problems of a scientific career. Between chapters detailed enough for experts but readily accessible to any educated reader, “interludes” provide vivid verbal images of the world of fire ants and the people who study them. Early chapters describe the several failed, and heavily politically influenced, eradication campaigns, and later ones the remarkable spread of S. invicta’s “polygyne” form, in which nests harbor multiple queens and colonies reproduce by “budding.” The reader learns much about ants, the practice of science, and humans’ role in the fire ant’s North American success.

At one time, there were no red imported fire ants in the United States. In the 1930s, the insects got into the country by accident. The ants soon spread rapidly all over the South. Today, the aggressive fire ants roam fields and lawns, looking for food and biting and stinging any animal or person who disturbs them. In Red Imported Fire Ants: Attacking Everything, students will learn all about these dangerous insects. The fascinating details describe how the fire ants attack and kill small animals for food, how they destroy millions of dollars worth of crops every year, and how they've even caused car accidents by destroying traffic lights! Large color photos, maps, and fact boxes enrich the dramatic details. Written in narrative format, this series is sure to keep young readers engaged.

In the early years of the twentieth century, South American fire ants crossed the Caribbean and invaded the shores of the southeastern United States. These imported fire ants quickly found a niche in Gulf Coast fields and lawns, overpowered the native species, and began spreading. In the process they became a notorious pest to some, a beneficial ally to others, and a potential killer to allergy sufferers. As a result, they are among the most intensely studied insects in the world. Near the turn of the millennium the dominant species, the red imported fire ant, finally made its long-feared leap across the hostile western desert into the greener oasis of southern California, where it stood poised to infest the richest agricultural region in the country.In this authoritative book, five economically important species take center stage. These are the red imported fire ant, the black imported fire ant, the tropical fire ant, the southern fire ant, and the golden fire ant. A general introduction and a history of their invasion of North America open the door to additional chapters on natural history, origin and evolution, animals that share the fire ants' nest, the mixed successes of chemical control, and natural enemies and the hopes for biocontrol. Also examined are the pros and cons of fire ants, their medical importance, and suggestions for future research. The appendices list all known fire ant species and explain how to prepare, preserve, and identify every known species occurring in the United States.Well written and enhanced by an extensive glossary, a thorough bibliography of scientific literature, and more than one hundred photos, maps, and drawings, Fire Ants engages and informs both nonprofessionals and specialists.

This distinctly Mexican version of an old fable found in Spain, Portugal, and France is retold and updated by a well-known storyteller. The little red ant has found a wonderful crumb, but she's not strong enough to carry it all the way home. Going from one creature to the next, asking for help, the little red ant is surprised to discover who is the strongest of all. Spanish words add to the text's Mexican flavor, and bold, playful illustrations, hinting at what's coming next, make this story a real "page-turner."

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) From the “author to watch” (Kirkus Reviews) of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes an “equal parts sarcastic and profound” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving. Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. Only he isn’t sure he wants to. After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year. Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him. But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.

“Beautifully illustrated with color photographs, the book offers a view into parallels between seemingly out-of-this-world ant societies and our own, including cities, an intense work ethic, division of labor, intragroup cooperation combined with genocidal outgroup warfare, even a kind of to-the-death national loyalty. The authors’ scientific rigor is matched by their joy in their subjects.”—The Wall Street Journal Shortlisted for the 2022 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize This sweeping portrait of the world’s uncontested six-legged conquerors will open your eyes to the secret societies thriving right beneath your feet—and shift your perspective on humanity. The closer you get to ants, the more human they look. Ants build megacities, tend gardens, wage wars, and farm livestock. Ants have flourished since the age of the dinosaurs. There are one million ants for every one of us. Engineered by nature to fulfill their particular roles, ants flawlessly perform a complex symphony of tasks to sustain their colony—seemingly without a conductor—from fearsome army ants, who stage twelve-hour hunting raids where they devour thousands, to gentle leafcutters cooperatively gardening in their peaceful underground kingdoms. Acclaimed biologist Susanne Foitzik has traveled the globe to study these master architects of Earth. Joined by journalist Olaf Fritsche, Foitzik invites readers deep into her world in both the field and the lab. Exploring these insects’ tiny yet incredible lives will inspire new respect for ants as a global superpower. Publisher’s note: Planet of the Ants was previously published in hardcover as Empire of Ants.