Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle

Illustrated by Alan Marks
Dung is a precious pile of food and drink for these beetles.

Simple science text and dramatic illustrations give a close-up view of the fascinating world of the dung beetle. When an animal lightens its load, dung beetles race to the scene. They battle over, devour, hoard, and lay their eggs in the precious poop. Dung is food, drink, and fuel for new life—as crucial to these beetles as the beetles are to many habitats, including our own.

Back matter includes instructions for finding dung beetles, fun facts, glossary, and a selected bibliography.
Cheryl Bardoe is the author of two Orbis Pictus Honor books, Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age (Abrams, 2010) and Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas (Abrams, 2006), as well as The Ugly Duckling Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Tale (Abrams, 2011). She lives near Hartford, Connecticut, with her family. View titles by Cheryl Bardoe
Somewhere in the world right now an animal
is lightening its load—
in your backyard,
on a nearby farm,
in a forest,
on a grassland far away.
  • WINNER | 2015
    Animal Behavior Book Award
  • WINNER | 2015
    John Burroughs Riverby Award for Young Readers
  • NOMINEE | 2015
    Cook Prize
  • SELECTION | 2015
    American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS)'s Science Books & Films Best List
  • SELECTION | 2015
    NSTA-CBC - Outstanding Science Trade Book

About

Dung is a precious pile of food and drink for these beetles.

Simple science text and dramatic illustrations give a close-up view of the fascinating world of the dung beetle. When an animal lightens its load, dung beetles race to the scene. They battle over, devour, hoard, and lay their eggs in the precious poop. Dung is food, drink, and fuel for new life—as crucial to these beetles as the beetles are to many habitats, including our own.

Back matter includes instructions for finding dung beetles, fun facts, glossary, and a selected bibliography.

Author

Cheryl Bardoe is the author of two Orbis Pictus Honor books, Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age (Abrams, 2010) and Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas (Abrams, 2006), as well as The Ugly Duckling Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Tale (Abrams, 2011). She lives near Hartford, Connecticut, with her family. View titles by Cheryl Bardoe

Excerpt

Somewhere in the world right now an animal
is lightening its load—
in your backyard,
on a nearby farm,
in a forest,
on a grassland far away.

Awards

  • WINNER | 2015
    Animal Behavior Book Award
  • WINNER | 2015
    John Burroughs Riverby Award for Young Readers
  • NOMINEE | 2015
    Cook Prize
  • SELECTION | 2015
    American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS)'s Science Books & Films Best List
  • SELECTION | 2015
    NSTA-CBC - Outstanding Science Trade Book

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