Product Description
Lorenzo: One sunny morning, little Lorenzo takes heart, opens his eyes, and leaves his familiar egg to check out the neighborhood. Curious as he is, he runs into one adventure after another. He learns a lot about all kinds of things, including about himself and his skills and about how to overcome fear, deal with tricky situations, and correct wrong assumptions for good. All the while, he is having one fun and exciting time.The Book not only provides fascinating entertainment; it also portrays a little guy s approach to unknown territory. It offers an example of how to take on the adventure of life in a positive, confident, and open-minded way.The book is also a charming Reading Trap.Its special design with lots of drawings and short headlines as well as detail-filled text makes Lorenzo s Adventures enjoyable for children of many ages, from as young as preschool to fourth or fifth graders.With this multi-level approach, the book also helps to motivate the young to improve their reading skills andallurethem into the fascinating world of words. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful multilevel reading adventure to share with young lizard lovers everywhere.
Written and illustrated by Peter Strunk, whose many real-life visits from little lizards inspired the story, Two Inch Hero: The Adventures of Lorenzo Lizard is a picturebook about the adventures of a newly hatched little lizard. Young Lorenzo discovers all sorts of exciting new things about himself, his talents, and how to overcome fear and handle tricky situations. Two Inch Hero alternates between a page full of text suited for readers up to fifth grade, and full-picture pages with just a few words for beginning readers. A wonderful multilevel reading adventure to share with young lizard lovers everywhere. ... Read more

Product Description
Australia is home to a rich and unique fauna, but few Australian animals are as intriguing as the monitor lizard. Their abundance and bold behavior have made them a familiar favorite with generations of Australian bush walkers, campers, and even picnickers. In an easy-to-read style,Monitors covers the fascinating natural history of these ancient animals, which includes the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon. This book is an update of the successful 1993 Australian Natural History Series title, Goanna. Since the publication of the first edition, many major studies have been undertaken on Australian, Asian, and African species of monitors (goannas) and much fascinating new information regarding varanid lizards has emerged. For instance, research on Varanus albigularis has revealed that they can count, while work on Varanus salvator shows that they swim in the ocean when not searching for food. These findings plus other new information in areas as diverse as taxonomy, diet, breeding behavior, and energetics have been incorporated into this text. Two new additions are a chapter on parasites of varanids and a section on foraging strategy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

THE Reference on Monitors
This is a brief but comprehensive review of up to date knowledge on the biology of the Varanids. This would have to be the best reference, on these interesting and beautiful creatures, you can own. It is informative, succint and very easy and engaging to read. It covers the main aspects of varanid biology within an evolutionary frame of reference. It is set out in such a way that you can find detailed information on each of the major species, sometimes down to sub-species level.

Nice!!!
This book introduice in a very simple way the biology of varanid. This study is mainly focus on australian species but biologist can do the link with others species from Asia or Africa. I recommand this book at everybody who have biological basis as student, herpetologist, teacher,...

good, but not great
focuses almost exclusively on V. rosenbergi studies and little else on other species of varanus.has some good general data on preferred temperature ranges, metabolic rates, and other data related to scientific studies of varanids but misses the mark that most people who purchase these books are herpetoculturists/hobbyists.They want to know data on all species related to diet, humidity, habitat, etc to create a functional environment for their kept species.for that, i give it 3 stars out of 5.it misses the mark for hobbyists.

Great resource on varanids
I will state right now that this book is not, IMHO, an easy read, or a particularly fluid read.
However, it is very informative, containing much information about the natural habits and ecology of varanid lizards. My main complaint is that the book seems to use V. rosenbergi as it's archetypal varanid; there are some 9 sub genera and several dozen species, and I wish that more attention had been payed to the some of the other varanids. However, this is still one of the few good monitor books that's actually in print, and is worth your read weather you're an academic herpetologist or a keeper (or for that matter if you are thinking about keeping a monitor). It provides insights that are sorely lacking in most other (in print) books, espically in regards to the thermal biology, water useage, and the diet of these lizards. It's easily worth your effort to read it.
The discussions about taxonomy are also great, and informative in regards to how gene sequencing is being used to establish relationships and derivations between species.
... Read more

Product Description
When Victor's parents go away for two weeks, leaving his older sister in charge, he is glad when she takes off on a vacation of her own. Home alone, Victor can do anything he wants. He stays up late, eats his pizza with anchovies, visits the zoo, and enjoys his favorite TV news program without interruption. It is while staying up late watching television that he discovers evidence of a secret community of intelligent lizards. In fact there seems to have been an invasion from outer space that went almost unnoticed! In the course of some detective work, he meets the Chicken Man, an eccentric with a hen in his hat who knows about these things. Together they visit the lizards in Thunderbolt City.

In a compelling and often endearing account, Victor tells us the fantastic experiences of those two weeks, giving us a startling glimpse at our own lives as well. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

NEEBLE NEEBLE!
I probably read this book about 15 times in 3rd grade and was delighted to have rediscovered this little treasure when looking for a good bedtime story book for my 9 year old daughter. I was thrilled at the chance to share one of my all time favorites from my childhood with my daughter.

Written at a time before our hyper-accelerated society with our contrived notions of childhood happiness manufactured by Disney; this book is a throw back to a time when radio waves were a thing of wonder and it was conceivable that a young boy named Victor could pick up TV signals late at night from Invisible Island in the middle of lake Mishagoo.

Lizards playing the saxophone, pizza with anchovies, The Pod People, Claudia the Chicken, Reynold the talking Lizard, Charlie (a.k.a. the Chicken Man), Walter Cronkite, and Grape Neehie at Shane Ferguson's Candy store.

This book is perfect for good old fashioned thought provoking story telling and it also happens to be fabulously entertaining.

Two Thumbs up!

Very used book
Delivered in a timely manner.
I know the price was low and it was not in pristine condition, but sas surprised to have an old, torn book delivered.
I'll shop more wisely in the future.

Lizard Music
I was so glad to find this book again as I had read it to my sons when they were in grade school. This is a very fun book for children big and small! This was our very first Daniel Pinkwater novel and was the biginning of our lifelong love of his writings. Read this to your children - give it to them to read. ONE disclaimer - if they are already immersed in fantasy then they will have little appreciation of how subtly Pinkwater takes you from known to the absurd to the almost believeable.

This book hooked my kid on reading
Lizzard Music is the way I got my son Matt to read as a kid.He could read but wasn't at all interested in the boring books he got handed at school.It was like pulling teeth to get him to read. I gave him lizzard music and asked that he read for 1/2 an hour and that was the last I heard from him except for some laughing and every once in a while a "wow! mom this is great!".He didn't put the book down except to eat and sleep until he finished it and then made me go get more Pinkwater books.So basicly my son reads thanks to the humor of the genius that is Daniel Manus Pinkwater!!! Thanks Mr. Pinkwater from moms everywhere

I Claudia's:Grace
I remember the night that my grandmother gave me this book.My mom was in the hospital for what would have been her last round of chemo and I had been beaten up in school that day for tucking my pants into my argyle socks in a rather unsporting display involving football players, loose change, and vending machines.Pinkwater's book kept me sane through the sixth grade and then some.There are a whole bunch of physicists in my department who feel the same way. We are very much in debt to the Chickenman and some other friendly phantoms from Bughouse Square and Pinkwater's memory (real or not, we are smart enough as a collective to get back to them). ... Read more

Product Description
In this adventure novel for 8-12-year-old boys, Eric is sent to a remote Pacific island to stop renegade biologists from developing a strain of giant lizard that could destroy the earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Eric Sterling Books are great!
I would recommend Eric Sterling Books to Anybody. It is best for ages 7-12 but it's OK for teens too, if they don't mind it being short.If you like Action, Animals, Mystery, Danger and of course Fun then PLEASE read these books. ... Read more

Product Description
Full-color illustrations and a simple, extensively researched text provide an informative look at the world of common snakes and lizards, including such fascinating species as the rattlesnake and the Gila monster. ... Read more

Product Description
Alone on the endless red-sand desert in the Australian outback, tracking Varanus giganteus, the perentie lizard that grows to be more than six feet long . . . for desert rat Eric Pianka, such adventures have led to a satisfying, if unusual, way of life, as well as a distinguished career as a field biologist. In The Lizard Man Speaks, Pianka recounts more than thirty years of adventures in reptile studies. He tells of "lizarding" in the North American deserts, the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa, and the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia. His vivid imagery draws the reader into a world where lions lurk in the darkness beyond a gecko hunter's lights, where being stranded by car trouble miles from the last outpost is a constant danger, and where the wilderness still deserves to be called wild. Along the way, Pianka provides much general information about lizard ecology, the fire succession cycle, and the interaction of humans with the landscape. And he reveals the springs of his own determined spirit and love of solitude, describing a near-fatal boyhood accident and its shaping and character-building effect on the life that followed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Be ready to take a trip
Beware, if you have been suppressing a wanderlust be prepared to take a trip.Your office, school, or home will seem like a cage as you read about Dr. Pianka's adventures in the expansive Australian Outback.

Although the book is very readable, I only gave it four stars because at times there is a break down in continuity and he strings into random thoughts with multiple repeats.Maybe it is due to all that solitude.

Great for anyone interested in herpetology, field studies, or an fascinating life story of an interesting man
I am a college student studying organismic biology.I am taking an ecology class this semester and our text is by Eric Pianka.Herpetology is one of my passions so when I found out Pianka was a "lizard man" I did some research and came upon this book.It turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. The book is written in a manner that engages the reader; you will be held captive as he writes about his childhood experiences and methods of lizarding.

a student from Connecticut
Eric pianka is one of the finest ecologists in the world. His excitement and passion for these animals is evident throughout the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who i interested in ecology an fieldbiology.

a must read book if you are pursuing your career in ecology.
I am so glad that I had bought this book from Half prize book store and had a chance to read.It helped me to understand the diversity of the lizards within and between the continents of northern America,Australia, and Africa.It also helped me to understand a lot about lizard naturalhistory. The author of this book deserves a lot of credit for his hard workand dedicated service in bringing up so much knowlede about the lizards tothe mankind.

A must read for anyone interested in lizards or ecology.
Erik Pianka is one of the worlds finest ecologists.His passion for lizard ecology is infective.By the end of book you will feel like you know and have worked with Pianka.His story shows what field biologists are all about. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

All About Lizards
My children loved this book they learned a lot about lizards and how to take care of them.

My kid enjoyed it
My son is a fourth grader.
He is a nonfictional reader.
He got a charge while reading this book.He enjoyed it thoroughly. ... Read more

Product Description

The large and impressive monitor lizard (genus Varanus) has attracted a great deal of interest. Despite being wary and difficult to observe, monitors have received an extraordinary amount of attention from devoted students. Varanoid Lizards of the World is a comprehensive account of virtually everything important that is known about monitor lizards, beginning with detailed species accounts and proceeding to various modern comparative analyses. Where possible, people who have had detailed field experience with a particular species have assembled the species accounts. In the process of reporting what is known, the book also identifies what remains to be learned about these lizards. This volume stands as a model for showing how such a diverse monophyletic group can be exploited both to identify and to understand the actual course of evolution.

Customer Reviews (2)

A good, needed update.
This is a great academic book.It is a much-needed update from Bennett's "Monitor Lizards: Natural history, biology & husbandry" (1998), which has been out of print for a number of years.

Most known facets of monitor biology are described for each species in Pianka and Kings' book, with each species being addressed by a person familiar with the species.Captive issues are addressed almost solely by a European audience, which is unfortunate since there are some very successful monitor herpetoculturists in the United States who could have made the captivity dimensions of this book far more respectable.

The book's only fault worthy of mention here is that of photograph quality.You can likely find better photos via pictures of pet monitors on MySpace or Photobucket!Not only are most of the photographs of inferior composition, but the print reproduction is terrible - very hazey.The photographs seem more for being able to say "Look, we pictured each species" rather than "Look, you can use these photos to properly compare and IDENTIFY species."With these photos, your ability to do the latter is limited.Just the same, I don't feel this fault is so heavy a detractant to warrant deleting a star from its rating.

Very good book.Monitor biologists likely already have their copies.Monitor pet keepers who wish to apply common sense and integrate their species' natural ecologies into the captive regime should have this title.

A MUST own for the monitor keeper
This text includes detailed, accurate information on most types of monitor lizards.I consider it my "Monitor Bible." A must have for the enthusiast.Typically speaking the best monitor books are not around for long, so get it while you can.HIGHLY recommended! ... Read more

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Each member of the lizard family enjoys a different hobby. ... Read more

Product Description
In a collection rich in implications for all fields of ecology, leading lizard ecologists demonstrate the utility of the phylogenetic approach in understanding the evolution of morphology, physiology, behavior, and life histories. Lizards, which are valued for their amenability to field experiments, have been the subject of reciprocal transplant experiments and of manipulations of resource availability, habitat structure, population density, and entire sections of food webs. Such experiments are rapidly rebuilding ecological theories as they apply to all organisms. As a demonstration of state-of-the-art historical and experimental research and as a call for philosophical engagement, this volume will join its predecessors--Lizard Ecology: A Symposium (Missouri, 1967) and Lizard Ecology: Studies of a Model Organism (Harvard, 1983)--in directing ecological research for years to come.Lizard Ecology contains essays on reproductive ecology (Arthur E. Dunham, Lin Schwarzkopf, Peter H. Niewiarowski, Karen Overall, and Barry Sinervo), behavioral ecology (A. Stanley Rand, William E. Cooper, Jr., Emlia P. Martins, Craig Guyer, and C. Michael Bull), evolutionary ecology (Raymond B. Huey, Jean Clobert et al., Donald B. Miles, and Theodore Garland, Jr.), and population and community ecology (Ted Case, Robin M. Andrews and S. Joseph Wright, Craig D. James, and Jonathan B. Losos). ... Read more

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A basic field guide format introduces 13 lizard species. Includes photographs and range maps. ... Read more

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Gary the lizard goes with his parents to buy a new bike. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes, in text and photographs, the lives of lizards in their natural habitat explaining how they feed, defend themselves, and breed. ... Read more

Product Description
Depicts various kinds of lizards in their natural surroundings. ... Read more