'A future classic of popular science' Mail on Sunday 'A dazzling account' Financial Times 'Absorbing, surprising and at times profound. After reading this, reality will never be quite the same' Dave Goulson Our senses are how we navigate the world: they help us recognise the expressions on a loved one's face, know whether fruit is ripe by its smell, or even sense a storm approaching through a sudden drop in air pressure. It's now believed that we may have as many as fifty-three senses - and we're just beginning to expand our knowledge of this incredibly extensive palette. Sensational is a mind-bending look at how our brains shape our experience of the world, marshalling the latest discoveries in science to explore the dazzling eyesight of the mantis shrimp, the rich inner lives of krill, and the baffling link between geomagnetic fields and canine bowel movements. Blending biology add neuroscience, Ward reveals that understanding our senses may hold the key to understanding the origins of human behaviour - from why we kiss to our varied music tastes.

Why do women have a better sense of smell than men? Has the iPhone changed how we touch? Does the Danube really look blue when you're in love? Our senses are at the heart of how we navigate the world. They help us recognise the expressions on a loved one's face, know whether fruit is ripe by its smell, or even sense a storm approaching through a sudden drop in air pressure. It's now believed that we may have as many as fifty-three senses - and we're just beginning to expand our knowledge of this incredibly extensive palette. In Sensational, Ashley Ward embarks on an expedition through the ways we experience the world, marshalling the latest advancements in science to explore the dazzling eyesight of the mantis shrimp, the rich inner lives of krill and the baffling link between canine bowel movements and geomagnetic fields. Unlocking the incredible power of our senses may hold the key to mysteries like why we kiss, how our brain dictates our taste in music and how a dairy-rich diet strained Euro-Japanese relations. Blending biology and cutting-edge neuroscience, Sensational is a mind-bending look at how our brains shape the way we interpret the world.

Explore the ingenious and funny behaviours found in the animal kingdom. Animals can't talk like we do. And yet animals have found a variety of different ways to communicate. Find out dolphins' unique whistles and how they use it just like a name to identify themselves and how ants leave smelly chemical messages to tell each other where to find food. Discover how scientists figured out that lobsters communicate by spraying wee in each other's faces. Written expert author Dr Ashley Ward, associate professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney, Australia, this humorous four-book series explores a wide range of animal behaviours from survival skills and animal communication to how animals learn and adapt to live in the most extreme environments. The Zany Brainy Animals series combines funny and fascinating facts about the animal kingdom and include behind the scenes stories in the 'Tales from the lab' panels about how scientists discover and study the featured animal behaviours. The amusing text covers key science topics such as adaptations, evolution and habitats. This series isn't just a catalogue of fascinating animal facts. By including the process in which we've found them out this series aims to inspire readers to pursue careers in the field. Perfect for reader 6+.

'Any writer who can evoke the existential sadness of a lonely cockroach, or make krill thrilling, or describe a snorkelling colleague being engulfed in a "gargantuan cetacean bum detonation" is a real gift to science communication ... thought-provoking' Guardian Everything you ever wanted to know about how animals live together, and what that means for us Some animal societies hold a mirror up to the human world: elephants hold funerals for departed family members. Pinyon jays run collective creches. Rats will go out of their way to help a cold, wet stranger. Other lifestyles can seem intensely alien. Take locusts, surging over the land in their millions, unable to slow down for a moment because the hungry ranks behind will literally bite their legs off if they don't stay one step ahead (actually, you might know a few people like that). But no matter how offputting an animal might be, behavioural scientist Ashley Ward can usually find something worth celebrating. Travelling the world from the Serengeti to the frozen Antarctic ocean, with stops in the muddy fields and streams of his native northern Yorkshire, he brings his curious eye and infectious humour right down to their level. The result is a world-expanding, myth-busting tour of some of nature's greatest marvels, in delightfully broad-minded company.

Explore the ingenious and funny behaviours found in the animal kingdom. To survive in the animal kingdom, creatures big and small have developed clever and sometimes surprising ways to stay alive. Find out how tarantulas shoot arrow-like hairs from their bum when threatened or how the pearlfish hides inside a sea cucumber's bum to escape predators. When it comes to survival, anything goes! Written expert author Dr Ashley Ward, associate professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney, Australia, this humorous four-book series explores a wide range of animal behaviours from survival skills and animal communication to how animals learn and adapt to live in the most extreme environments. The Zany Brainy Animals series combines funny and fascinating facts about the animal kingdom and include behind the scenes stories in the 'Tales from the lab' panels about how scientists discover and study the featured animal behaviours. The amusing text covers key science topics such as adaptations, evolution and habitats. This series isn't just a catalogue of fascinating animal facts. By including the process in which we've found them out this series aims to inspire readers to pursue careers in the field. Perfect for reader 6+.

Explore the ingenious and funny behaviours found in the animal kingdom. To survive in the animal kingdom, creatures big and small have to learn the tips and tricks that will help them survive, find the best food or just get along with one another. Find out how meerkat parents teach their babies how to hunt scorpions and how a clever blue tit figured how to break into milk bottles and taught all his friends too. Discover how scientists figured out what great memories chimpanzees have. Written expert author Dr Ashley Ward, associate professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney, Australia, this humorous four-book series explores a wide range of animal behaviours from survival skills and animal communication to how animals learn and adapt to live in the most extreme environments. The Zany Brainy Animals series combines funny and fascinating facts about the animal kingdom and include behind the scenes stories in the 'Tales from the lab' panels about how scientists discover and study the featured animal behaviours. The amusing text covers key science topics such as adaptations, evolution and habitats. This series isn't just a catalogue of fascinating animal facts. By including the process in which we've found them out this series aims to inspire readers to pursue careers in the field. Perfect for reader 6+.

Explore the ingenious and funny behaviours found in the animal kingdom. To survive in the animal kingdom, creatures big and small have developed clever and sometimes surprising ways to change their behaviour and adapt to their ever-changing surroundings. Find out how locusts transform from peaceful loners into an army of ravenous eating machine in time of food shortage or how birds living in cities have changed their song to compete with the sounds of the city. When it comes to survival, anything goes! Written expert author Dr Ashley Ward, associate professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney, Australia, this humorous four-book series explores a wide range of animal behaviours from survival skills and animal communication to how animals learn and adapt to live in the most extreme environments. The Zany Brainy Animals series combines funny and fascinating facts about the animal kingdom and include behind the scenes stories in the 'Tales from the lab' panels about how scientists discover and study the featured animal behaviours. The amusing text covers key science topics such as adaptations, evolution and habitats. This series isn't just a catalogue of fascinating animal facts. By including the process in which we've found them out this series aims to inspire readers to pursue careers in the field. Perfect for reader 6+.

'Any writer who can evoke the existential sadness of a lonely cockroach, or make krill thrilling, or describe a snorkelling colleague being engulfed in a "gargantuan cetacean bum detonation" is a real gift to science communication ... thought-provoking' Guardian Everything you ever wanted to know about how animals live together, and what that means for us Some animal societies hold a mirror up to the human world: elephants hold funerals for departed family members. Pinyon jays run collective creches. Rats will go out of their way to help a cold, wet stranger. Other lifestyles can seem intensely alien. Take locusts, surging over the land in their millions, unable to slow down for a moment because the hungry ranks behind will literally bite their legs off if they don't stay one step ahead (actually, you might know a few people like that). But no matter how offputting an animal might be, behavioural scientist Ashley Ward can usually find something worth celebrating. Travelling the world from the Serengeti to the frozen Antarctic ocean, with stops in the muddy fields and streams of his native northern Yorkshire, he brings his curious eye and infectious humour right down to their level. The result is a world-expanding, myth-busting tour of some of nature's greatest marvels, in delightfully broad-minded company.