Where Else in the Wild?: More Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed Tapa dura - 2009

If you were a frog or a fish or a bird or a bug--or almost any other kind of animal--you would probably live longer if you could hide with your colors. Whether you were looking for food or trying to avoid being someone else's food, camouflage could help you survive. If a predator doesn't see you, it can't eat you. If your prey doesn't see you, it can be your next meal.

In our previous book, Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed...and Revealed, we introduced ten well-camouflaged animals. We had so much fun with Where in the Wild? that we decided to write this sequel. Now you can puzzle over eleven more hidden animals--and we've got some wild ones!

You'll discover an enchanting collection of camouflaged creatures: an insect that looks just like the leaves on which it feeds; a fish with venomous spines you wouldn't want to touch but may find impossible to see; a mammal as white as freshly fallen snow in the winter, but as brown as bare earth in the summer. These animals and others lie in wait to challenge your powers of observation.

Both Where in the Wild? and Where Else in the Wild? feature photographs of hidden animals lurking in their natural environment. Can you spot them? Poems provide clues about each animal so you can try to figure out what you're looking for. When you're ready to find out who's hiding and where, lift the photo page. The camouflaged creature is revealed in its hiding place. Then, read the fascinating facts on the facing page about this animal's natural history and how it uses camouflage to survive.

This book works the same way as Where in the Wild?, but there is a difference: some of these photographs have not just one camouflaged creature, but two or three. Each poem will give you clues about how many animals you're looking for. Before you lift the page, try to find them all. Good luck!


Sample Poem: Measure by Measure
creeping and crawling, I bend and extend--smooth, hairless body, legs at each end

green as these tendrils of curlicue vine--standing immobile at danger's first sign

chomping and munching, feeding all day--measure by measure, inching my way

Sample Naturalist Notes: Inchworm

Inch by inch, inchworms inch their way along a branch or vine. Also called measuring worms or loopers, inchworms are the larvae of geometer moths. The word geometer means "earth measurer" because the larvae of geometer moths appear to be "measuring" with their inch-long bodies as they move. With legs at each end, they bend into a loop and then straighten out to their full length.

Green, brown, gray, or black, inch-worms of many species look like the twigs of the trees they feed upon. The resemblance is so strong that predators have a hard time noticing them. If danger comes too close, the inchworm makes a silken thread from a gland in its mouth and slides down the thread. Hanging in midair, it looks even more like a twig. When the threat has passed, the inchworm climbs back up the thread to munch on leaves once again.

Like most insect larvae, inchworms undergo complete metamorphosis. This process begins when they lower themselves to the ground and burrow into the earth to spin silken cocoons. They pass the winter as pupae until they emerge in the spring, fully transformed into adult moths. After finding a mate, female moths lay eggs. These hatch into larvae and the daily routine of feeding and inching, inching and feeding, begins again.

Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12, a cooperative project of the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council.

As in Where in the Wild (2007), poetry and photography work together well in this beautifully illustrated book presenting camouflaged animals.... Notable for its finesse and variety, the poetry includes rhymed verse as well as haiku and several concrete poems. A playful but informative introduction to camouflage in nature.—Booklist magazine

David M. Schwartz makes 40 to 50 school visits per year, where he presents his camouflage books, Where in the Wild and Where ELSE in the Wild, as Powerpoint slideshows, challenging students to find the animals hidden in the books' pages. Yael Schy is a dynamic speaker, trainer, facilitator, and coach. Where ELSE in the Wild is her second book with her husband, David M. Schwartz.

Dwight Kuhn is a well-known nature photographer whose work has been featured by many major nature magazines.