Table of Contents

• 1: The Basics of Life
• 1: How life works
• • 2: How reproduction works
  • 3: How cells work
  • 4: How DNA works
  • 5: How evolution works
  • 6: How classification works
• 2: Microorganisms and Fungi
• • 1: How microorganisms work
  • 2: Types of single-celled life
  • 3: How germs work
  • 4: How algae work
  • 5: Marine algae
  • 6: How mushrooms work
  • 7: Types of mushrooms
  • 8: How mould works
  • 9: How lichen works
• 3: Plants
• • 1: How plants work
  • 2: How flowering plants grow
  • 3: How seeds grow
  • 4: How roots and stems work
  • 5: How trees work
  • 6: How leaves work
  • 7: How flowers work
  • 8: Types of flowers
  • 9: How fruits grow
  • 10: How seeds travel
  • 11: Deciduous forests
  • 12: How plant defences work
  • 13: How carnivorous plants work
  • 14: How desert plants survive
  • 15: How aquatic plants work
• 4: Invertebrates
• • 1: How invertebrates work
  • 2: How snails work
  • 3: How bivalves work
  • 4: Types of shells
  • 5: How octopuses work
  • 6: How sea anemones work
  • 7: How corals work
  • 8: Coral community
  • 9: How jellyfish work
  • 10: How starfish work
  • 11: How worms work
  • 12: How sea worms work
  • 13: How insects work
  • 14: Types of insects
  • 15: How exoskeletons work
  • 16: How metamorphosis works
  • 17: How insects see
  • 18: How antennae work
  • 19: How insects hear
  • 20: How wings work
  • 21: How a mantis hunts
  • 22: How parasites work
  • 23: How chemical defences work
  • 24: How stingers work
  • 25: How camouflage works
  • 26: How mimicry works
  • 27: How bees work
  • 28: How ants work
  • 29: Fireflflies
  • 30: How spiders work
  • 31: How spider silk works
  • 32: How scorpions hunt
  • 33: How millipedes work
  • 34: How crabs work
• 5: Fish
• • 1: How fish work
  • 2: How fish swim
  • 3: How fish senses work
  • 4: How fish reproduce
  • 5: How fish care for their young
  • 6: Salmon migration
  • 7: How sharks work
  • 8: How fish defences work
  • 9: How camouflage works
  • 10: Fish school
  • 11: How symbiosis works
  • 12: How deep-sea fish work
• 6: Amphibians
• • 1: How amphibians work
  • 2: How tadpoles grow
  • 3: Frogspawn
  • 4: How frogs move
  • 5: How frogs communicate
  • 6: How defence works
  • 7: How salamanders work
  • 8: How axolotls work
• 7: Reptiles
• • 1: How reptiles work
  • 2: How scales work
  • 3: How snake senses work
  • 4: How reptile eggs work
  • 5: Marine iguanas
  • 6: How crocodiles hunt
  • 7: How chameleons hunt
  • 8: How chameleons change colour
  • 9: How geckos climb
  • 10: How tuataras work
  • 11: How snakes move
  • 12: How snakes kill
  • 13: How snakes eat
  • 14: How tortoises work
• 8: Birds
• • 1: How birds work
  • 2: How bird skeletons work
  • 3: Types of beaks
  • 4: How birds fly
  • 5: How wings work
  • 6: How feathers work
  • 7: How hummingbirds hover
  • 8: Life on the move
  • 9: How birds migrate
  • 10: How courtship works
  • 11: How nests work
  • 12: How eggs develop
  • 13: How birds grow
  • 14: How cuckoos work
  • 15: How owls sense prey
  • 16: How eagles hunt
  • 17: Types of bird feet
  • 18: How ducks swim
  • 19: How birds dive
  • 20: How penguins move
  • 21: Surviving the storm
  • 22: How ostriches work
• 9: Mammals
• • 1: How mammals work
  • 2: How hair works
  • 3: How mammal senses work
  • 4: How mammals are born
  • 5: How mammals feed their young
  • 6: How mammals care for their young
  • 7: How mammals grow up
  • 8: How hierarchy works
  • 9: How pack hunting works
  • 10: Ocean giants
  • 11: How conflict works
  • 12: How defence works
  • 13: How carnivores work
  • 14: How insect eaters work
  • 15: How herbivores work
  • 16: How rodents work
  • 17: How beavers live
  • 18: Types of mammal limbs
  • 19: How bats work
  • 20: Ceiling sleepers
  • 21: How mammals glide
  • 22: How gibbons swing
  • 23: How mammals burrow
  • 24: How elephants work
  • 25: Land giants
  • 26: How whales work
• 10: Habitats
• • 1: How biomes work
  • 2: How tropical rainforests work
  • 3: How temperate forests work
  • 4: How boreal forest works
  • 5: How tropical grasslands work
  • 6: How temperate grasslands work
  • 7: How wetlands work
  • 8: How mountains work
  • 9: How deserts work
  • 10: How tundras work
  • 11: How polar regions work
  • 12: How rivers and lakes work
  • 13: How oceans work
• 11: Glossary
• 12: Index
• 13: Acknowledgments

Promotional Information

Nature as you've never seen it before.

Reviews

Dorling Kindersley's nature and science books are always good, and the Explanatorium of Nature is an ambitious blockbuster that describes the workings of nature, from carnivorous plants to evolution. Hefty, and handsome.
*The Spectator*

A beautiful, mind-blowing, close up look at nature.
*Primary Times*