Readers are introduced to living things with some of the strangest defenses known to science: termites that blow themselves up to save the colony; fish that produce copious amounts of gooey, slippery slime; lizards that run on water; and other animals that defend themselves in peculiar ways. Explores various prey and predator relationships in nature, focusing on the strange and wonderful defensive weapons used by Earth's creatures, including camouflage,...

"Did you know that the blue dragon sea slug is the length of a paperclip but can store deadly jellyfish venom in its body for use against predators? Or that the golden poison dart frog is only an inch long, but its skin holds enough poison to kill ten people? These tiny terrors don't have to be big to be deadly!"--

"When fourteen-year-old Noah falls from the trees on his classmate Sahara, he doesn’t understand how, or why, he would have been up there. It’s just one more in a string of strange things happening to Noah lately. Like when he keels over and every muscle in his body freezes when confronted by bullies. And when he vanishes into the background at a moment he doesn’t want to be noticed. And when he unexpectedly blasts Sahara with a bird shriek...

"When faced with an enemy, the opossum flops over and doesn't move. Drool bubbles from its nose, and a smelly liquid might squirt out from its butt. Did it die of fright? No, it's playing dead! Along with other tricks, the opossum pretends to be dead so its enemies will move on to their next snack. Fun text and eye-catching photos introduce this animal in all its gross glory"--

"Dive under the waves to find a fish with slime. A hagfish's slime can protect it from enemies and also help it get food. Even grosser, this creature eats all its meals from the inside out! Fun text and eye-catching photos introduce this animal in all its gross glory"--

Describes such animals as snails, turtles, and crabs, which live in shells and use these coverings as protection.

Describes the odors that some animals have developed to stay safe and thrive in their environments, including the striped skunk, the bombardier beetle, and the honey badger.

"Discover some of the brilliant ways animals disguise themselves in this engaging introduction for young children from a conservation biologist." --

"Differentiated reader that explains how different animals defend themselves and stay safe, with two levels of readability: emergent reader and fluent reader"--Provided by publisher.