Patrick Perish

From padded split hooves made to scale rocky terrain to reflective fur, bighorn sheep have what it takes to survive in the desert! These tough animals survive even the driest of desert days through their physiological and behavioral adaptations. Early...

Spend a day hiking in the Sonoran Desert, and you may spot an unusual sight: a lizard sprinting on two legs! Collared lizards reach speeds of up to 16 miles per hour while racing on their hind legs to catch prey or escape predators. Eye-catching...

Some animals do some really gross things. Horned toads shoot blood out of their eyes, turkey vultures vomit in self-defense, and skunks spray their nasty-smelling mist more than ten feet!Learn about animals with the ick factor in this high-interest...

The human body does not always have the best manners. It makes farting and belching noises, spews and sweats, and lets boogers and earwax build up.Learn about gross body functions in this sick title for reluctant readers.A Bellwether Media production....

Long antennae, armored bodies, and legs—lots and lots of legs. From cockroaches to centipedes, beetles to lice, there are many of bugs that give people the creeps.Squirm your way through this fact-filled title for emerging readers.A Bellwether Media...

There are many strange foods out there that don't sound appetizing at first. From rotting shark meat to fried spiders, there’s sure to be something that can test the strength of your stomach.Discover foods called yucky more often than yummy in this...

Do you avoid cleaning your room? Just imagine cleaning up garbage, crime scenes, or even septic tanks for your job! They may not be glamorous, but these jobs need to be done.Discover more disgusting jobs in this high-interest read for beginning...

Not all plants smell as sweet as a rose. Carrion flowers smell like rotting flesh to attract flies and other pollinators. Others, like the Venus flytrap and Nepenthes truncata, actually eat animals!Young readers will be amazed by all of the weird and...

The gigantic ears of fennec foxes are not just for hearing small rodents scurry under the Saharan sands: these appendages radiate heat during scorching desert days to keep the foxes cool! Many more desert adaptations are explained in this fact-filled...

Strong, fast, and fearless, roadrunners are the ultimate desert-dwelling birds! Their bodies maintain water by excreting salt through glands near their eyes, and their powerful legs let them race through the open brushland at speeds of up to 18 miles...

S-shaped markings trail behind a rattlesnake scaling a tall desert dune. It is a sidewinder making its characteristic climb! These snakes have developed a special way of moving so only two small areas of their bodies touch the scalding hot sand at a...