A prairie dog town is a busy place. As author and field researcher Theodore Manno explains, a prairie dog's life can be full of mischief, romantic trysts, antipredator behavior, fighting, kissing, and infanticide that can all be witnessed over the course of a few months. In this definitive book on Utah prairie dogs, he vividly recounts the daily ups and downs of prairie dog life as well as his own trials and triumphs while observing these rare rodents in Bryce Canyon National Park. As part of John Hoogland's long-term study, Manno and other members of the "Dog Squad" recorded the behavior of the "town" residents from the vantage point of a nine-foot-tall tower. Over time, the researchers came to know the personalities and social structure of the town's inhabitants. Demonstrating an unbridled passion for research, Manno communicates the satisfaction, excitement, and sadness that comes with watching marked individuals over time. His narrative, accompanied by more than 150 photos by wildlife photographer Elaine Miller Bond, provides a full overview of what is currently known about Utah prairie dogs, a species that is threatened with extinction.

What if a puma could spring from the grass and motivate you to "Get more pounce to the ounce?" Or what if an electric eel could somehow zap you with the mindset to "Be positive"? Such is the concept behind "Dream Affimals"-that animals can uplift your spirits, simply by doing what comes naturally. Forty animals share their wisdom in this book, from the snow leopard to the honeybee to the frillfin goby (a small jumping fish). And their affirmations come alive through beautiful illustrations and heartening, well-researched tales of the wild, like the loggerhead sea turtle, which hatches in a cramped pit dug into a Florida beach, then scampers by moonlight into the surf. The sea brings possibilities and the hope of reaching deep water, the Atlantic's hiding place for tiny reptiles starting life with a journey covering thousands of miles. Intrepid little turtles and all the animals in this book make us feel good about our wildest dreams, as reachable, perhaps, as the nearest ocean. ELAINE MILLER BOND is the author and illustrator of "Affimals: Affirmations + Animals," her earlier book celebrating the wild kingdom, and "The Utah Prairie Dog," featuring more than 150 photographs she took on her adventure, with scientists, in the prairie dog's native more-barking-the better habitat. She took her master's degree from Cambridge University, England and began her career as senior writer for the University of California Natural Reserve System. Her writing and photography have appeared on the Discovery Channel and in "The Washington Post," "BBC Earth News," and other popular media.

Is your favorite color warm and sunny, or is it cool like water? Does it appear with the rain, or does it glow and shine in the sun? In the latest board book from the author of Living Wild, photographs of animals in their natural habitats show young readers the prismatic hues found in nature, from the tangerine of monarch butterflies to the fresh green of new sorrel. Each page names and locates the Western park or city where Bond photographed the featured species.

Theodore G. Manno traces the history of nutria from their natural range in South America to their status as an invasive species known for destroying the environmentally and economically important wetlands along the Gulf Coast. In this definitive book on "swamp rats," Manno vividly recounts western expansion and the explosion of the American fur industry. Then he details an apocalyptic turn-to replace an overhunted beaver population in North America, humans introduced nutria. With an eclectic repertoire of true stories that read like fiction and are played out by larger-than-life characters, Manno conveys the legend of empire-seeking fur trappers, the bizarre miscommunications that led to nutria releases, and the sadness that comes with killing millions of nutria whose ancestors were never meant to leave their South American habitat. He tells of disastrous interactions among hungry nutria, storm surges from Hurricane Katrina, and major oil spills. His extensively researched and epic narrative,accompanied by more than thirty photographs and entertaining interviews with biologists, historians, fashion designers, and chefs, weaves a poignant tale of empire, conquest, fortune, even of Tabasco Sauce. Manno provides a full overview of what is currently known about nutria-a species now aggressively hunted with a bountyprogram because of their reputation for wetland destruction.