Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide

by Richard W. Thorington Jr., Katie Ferrell, Katherine Ferrell, et al.

Book Overview

Did you know that a groundhog is really a type of squirrel? That squirrels control their body temperature with their tails? That most squirrels have yellow-tinted eye lenses that work like sunglasses to reduce glare? That tree squirrels can turn their hind feet completely around when climbing down a tree head-first? In Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide, Richard W. Thorington Jr. and Katie Ferrell unveil the fascinating world of one of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801884039
• ISBN13: 9780801884030
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.0" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Go Nuts!

If you are a squirrel fan,you will go nuts with this book! Good info.! Very thorough, and helpful, not to mention interesting! A must for your nature library.

Excellent Book on Squirrel Biology, Behavior, and Natural History

If you have an interest in any of the squirrels in North America, you'll like this book. I am enjoying it immensely, and I have read most of the really good squirrel literature available. This new book is excellent. Somewhere in the advertising literature, it says that the book is in question and answer form. This nearly put me off and caused me not to order the book. Don't allow that to happen to you. It is simply that the titles to each short section of the book are in the form of questions. The text that follows these headings is excellent. I'm glad I bought it. For readers seeking knowledge of tree squirrels, I would also recommend The Natural History of Squrrels by Steele and Arizona's Tree Squirrels by David Brown. That would be in addition to, not in place of, Squrrels: The Animal Answer Book.

A unique book

Few mammalogical books deal with families of mammals leaving aside charismatic groups like cats and primates. Well, the squirrels have had the light beamed at them, and they are the stars of this compact, easily digested volume all abou the squirrels of the world. There have been a few other books on squirrels in the past with accent on few. I enjoyed reading this book and noted its extensive list of known species, decent illustrations and overview of the group as a whole. Sadly there is still a great deal that we don't know. This book is pitched at the non specialist non paleontologist and I would have liked to have seen more on squirrel phylogeny and paleontology. I hope this book leads to more illustrated works on this intelligent, perky family of mammals which I happen to study. They do represent keystone (charismatic, well recognised) mammals and deserve better coverage.

BACKYARD FRIENDS

If you have been observing the squirrels in your backyard or garden, and have been wondering just what they are "thinking" or what they are "up to," this is the book for you. Very well written, and particularly well organized, it is a book that you go back to again and again, right after observing your furry friends. You will enjoy it!

Fascinating book sure to entertain readers of all ages and backgrounds.

Written by Richard W. Thorington Jr., curator of mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and his former research assistant Katie Ferrell, Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide is an information-packed primer all about various species of squirrels, from the common grey squirrel to black-tailed prairie dogs to flying squirrels. Presented in a question-and-answer format, Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide covers topics ranging from "Can squirrels see color?" to "Why do squirrels commit infanticide?", "Do squirrels make good pets?" and "What do squirrels have to do with the Cinderella story?" (Cinderella's famous slipper was originally a comfortable squirrel slipper; it became an impractical glass slipper due to a mistranslation!) Black-and-white photographs and a handful of color plates illustrate this fascinating book sure to entertain readers of all ages and backgrounds.