Platypus Matters


Book Description

"Naturalist and Assistant Director of the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, Jack Ashby shares his love for the platypus and other Australian mammals, including wombats, echidnas, and kangaroos. Informed by stories of his experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia and his close contact with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200 years, Ashby's book explains historical mysteries and debunks myths about these mammals and especially the platypus-which lays eggs, feeds its young on milk, has venom spurs, and sports a bill that can detect electricity. In evaluating how humans have considered these special mammals, he makes clear that calling these animals "weird" or "primitive"- or incorrectly implying that Australia is an "evolutionary backwater"-has only added to the challenges for their conservation. One outcome of these descriptions is that Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Ashby argues that many of the ways that the world thinks about Australia's mammals can be traced back to the country's colonial history"--




Paddy the Platypus


Book Description

When Paddy the Platypus leaves his home to find new friends, he is shocked to find that the other animals don't want to play with him. A beaver, an otter, and a family of ducks each poke fun at Paddy because he looks so odd. But when a baby bird falls from its nest and Paddy catches it with his soft snout, the other animals realize Paddy's differences are what make him so special. Paddy the Platypus is written in couplets, including a deliberate repetition of key phrases that young children can easily remember. The book is beautifully illustrated by Tristan Brewster-Arnold.




Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . .


Book Description

This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school. Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar... is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense! And now, you can read Daniel Klein's further musings on life and philosophy in Travels with Epicurus and Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change it.




Platypus


Book Description

The platypus is one strange-looking animal! These mammals have duck-like bills, beaver-like tails, otter-like bodies, and even venomous stingers on their webbed feet! Find out how these bizarre animals use their unique features in this title for beginning readers.




The Platypus and the Birthday Party


Book Description

Platypus wants Bruce's birthday party to be as special as possible. With a little help from his friend Echidna, he makes party hats, a beautiful cake and decorations and it turns out to be a day to remember.




Bike Snob


Book Description

“Equal parts critical manifesto and tender mini-memoir about a boy and his bikes” from Eben Weiss, blogger and author of The Enlightened Cyclist (GQ). Cycling is exploding in a good way. Urbanites everywhere, from ironic hipsters to earth-conscious commuters, are taking to the bike like aquatic mammals to water. BikeSnobNYC—cycling’s most prolific, well-known, hilarious, and anonymous blogger—brings a fresh and humorous perspective to the most important vehicle to hit personal transportation since the horse. Bike Snob treats readers to a laugh-out-loud rant and rave about the world of bikes and their riders and offers a unique look at the ins and outs of cycling, from its history and hallmarks to its wide range of bizarre practitioners. Throughout, the author lampoons the missteps, pretensions, and absurdities of bike culture while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm for cycling itself. Bike Snob is an essential volume for anyone who knows, is, or wants to become a cyclist. “This is a social manual that should be bundled with every bike shipped in America.” —Christian Lander, author of Stuff White People Like “I like to think I know a thing or two (or three) about being ruthless and relentless—either trying to win the Tour or fighting cancer. The Snob knows it too. Keeping us dorks in line is tough work. I take pleasure in getting picked on by the Snob, slightly more pleasure in reading his writing, but take the most pleasure punishing his ass (my payback) on the bike either in Central Park or on 9W/River Road. Long live the Snob.” —Lance Armstrong




Platypus


Book Description

Platypus decides it's the perfect day to go collecting. He finds a big rock, an old shoe and a broken umbrella, but none of these are quite what he's looking for. Then he finds a curly shell - just right But it keeps going missing from his special box. The 'thief' turns out to be a little hermit crab living inside the shell so Platypus takes it back to the sea where it belongs. Luckily there are plenty of unoccupied shells for Platypus to collect - and keep.




If My Mom Were a Platypus


Book Description

Through an informative examination of fourteen mammal animals, including the elephant and platypus, young readers can learn how mammal mothers protect, feed, and raise their young in their natural habitats during their offspring's most vulnerable period in life. Simultaneous.




Oi Duck-Billed Platypus!


Book Description

Oi! Where are duck-billed platypuses meant to sit? And kookaburras and hippopotamuses and all the other animals with impossible to rhyme with names? Over to you, Frog!




Platypuses


Book Description

Find out what a platypus has in common with a beaver or a dolphin. Learn what sets a platypus apart from a giraffe or a wild dog. Readers will compare key traits of platypuses—their appearance, behavior, habitat, and life cycle—to traits of other mammals. Charts and sidebars support key ideas and provide details. Through gathering information about similarities and differences, readers will make connections and draw conclusions about what makes this animal a mammal and how mammals are alike and different from each other.