Brittle Stars and Mudbugs: An Uncommon Field Guide to Northwest Shorelines and Wetlands

by Patricia K. Lichen, Linda M. Feltner (Illustrations)

Birds that walk underwater. Slugs that mate while suspended in midair. Frogs who star on Hollywood soundtracks. The Pacific Northwest abounds in natural wonders, and here are field guides as interesting as the world they describe. Filled with both amazing and amusing true-life tales about Northwest plants and animals, this new series of uncommon field guides will appeal to the casual observer and the avid naturalist alike. Each of these illustrated books describes more than sixty plants, animals, and natural phenomena of a particular Northwest habitat. Author Patricia Lichen combines standard field guide information about habitat, appearance, and range with delightful and engaging descriptions of the little-known facts, surprising details, and amusing-- even bizarre-- tidbits rarely found in ordinary field guides. Discover how amazing the Northwest natural world really is with these uncommon field guides.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2002

Reviews

[CindySR · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in a series of 3 books about flora and fauna in the northwest. I hope I can find the third because I really learned from them. Kids and adults alike will enjoy reading these short chapters on plants, animals, sea creatures, and even tides and wetlands are covered.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an accessible and unexpected peek into a wide array of intertidal beings. Learned a ton!

[Robert Zwilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off this is a book you can read anytime for enjoyment and information, you don't need to wait until you need a field guide to look something up. Very well written from both an informative view and a personal view. Makes it feel like you are personally being introduced to the inhabitants of the shore and wetlands. Even if you don't live in the Northwest there is still much you can learn as many of the animals or their first cousins live throughout North America. Regular field guides give you dry descriptions, pictures and maps, this field guide gives you real insight into the natural kingdom.

[Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun 2-3 page vignettes about PNW flora and fauna. Each chapter tries to mix in a few fun facts, and you can use them as a jumping off point to deep dive into further research if something particularly fascinates you. You can put down the book and pick it back up anytime, and jump around.

[Lafcadio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a bet, of sorts, with information from this book. Plus found information about an animal I talk about frequently but really know nothing about.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are fun books. I just had a harder time with this one because I don't know sea creatures.