The Nature Kid's Guide to Tarantulas

Flick! A tarantula kicks a cloud of invisible hairs at an attacking bird. The bird stumbles back, eyes stinging. It's a Mexican Red Knee, and it just won without using its fangs. There's way more to tarantulas than their scary reputation. These ancient hunters have been on Earth for over 100 million years, can regrow a lost leg after molting, go a whole month without eating, and have blue blood just like crabs and lobsters. "The Nature Kid's Guide to Tarantulas" is written for curious kids ages 7 to 12 who want to know what makes these spiders so extraordinary. How does a tarantula feel prey moving through the ground without seeing or hearing it? Why does a male have to run for his life after mating? And how can the world's biggest spider grow legs nearly as wide as a classroom ruler? Short sentences and jaw-dropping facts fill every page. Your child will discover that tarantulas dissolve their prey into soup and slurp it up, that some can swim by trapping air bubbles in their body hairs, and that Pink Toe spiderlings hatch bright blue before slowly turning brown. They'll learn how mother tarantulas guard up to 2,000 eggs in a silk sac, how the Cobalt Blue hides so deep in its burrow that scientists rarely see it, and why females can live 30 years while males are lucky to make it to seven. A book for every kid who gets excited when they spot a spider instead of running away. Eight hairy legs, wild survival tricks, and a whole book full of wild facts your child will want to share. Thousands of young readers have explored the Nature Kids Guide series. Your child's next favorite spider is waiting in the dark.