Nature Mysteries

Hank makes a foolish bet with his archenemy, Pete the Barncat, that he can catch the Lumberpile Bunny. He loses the wager, his job, his pride, and even his gunny sack bed under the gas tanks. Hank begins to plot revenge. He must dispose of the cat. That sounds simple. But without Pete, Hank discovers scrap time has lost all its joy and meaning.

Twins Bradley and Brian Pinto are getting ready to celebrate Mother's Day by treating their mom to a show by Hypo, the world's greatest hypnotist. Brian hopes that if Hypo can hypnotize his mom into loving ducks, then she will let him raise ducks in their backyard. But when the Pinto family gets home from the show, the twins' mom starts acting strange. She splashes in the bathtub for hours, she leaves corn kernels all over, and - could it be? - she quacks!

Catalina "Cat" Duran and her friends thought they were on a field trip to see the seals at the aquarium. So why has the seal show been cancelled?

The Wundermutt dog food company is searching for a very special dog to be in their commercials, and the Aldens bring their dog, Watch, to the tryouts! But plenty of other dog owners are hoping their dogs get the job too—including a dog that's already famous. Does Watch have what it takes to be a star?

Blue River Creek has a problem: there's a pet thief on the loose! Or at least, Sofia and Iggy are convinced that there is, once their pets go missing. But as a scientist, Ada knows it's important not to jump to conclusions and to follow the facts. How will they find out what really happened to the town's pets? By using the Scientific Method, of course! Through making a hypothesis, collecting data, and experimentation, the Questioneers must find the missing animals before even more pets disappear!

When those two enthusiastic fishermen, Djuna and his friend, Tommy, are offered a chance to spend the summer at fish-filled Silver Lake as the guests of Miss Annie Ellery, they are overjoyed. But great as the fishing proves to be, there is more in store: Silver Lake holds a mystery, and the boys find themselves swept up in a series of exciting and dangerous adventures, including an abandoned icehouse and two fires, as they help to solve it.

When Hank the Cowdog sticks his nose where it doesn't belong - into an old pipe behind the machine shed - he gets more than he bargained for. Before he can say "boy howdy", Hank gets a nip that sets his eyes a-watering and his snouta-throbbing.

When Josh discovers a nest of young falcons in the forest, he, Dink, and Ruth Rose start visiting every day. But in the morning they find it empty! The kids discover a wounded falcon with its wing feathers clipped, and they know someone's up to no good. Can they figure out what's going on before it's too late to save the falcons?

When a dog training school opens in Greenfield, the Boxcar Children bring Watch in to learn some new tricks! But at the very first class, a Dalmatian goes missing—did the dog run away, or was he stolen? And when a second dog vanishes at the next class, it’s clear that the Aldens have a dog-gone mystery to solve!

On a tip from Pete the Barncat, Hank the Cowdog and his faithful second-in-command, Drover, go in search of the fabled pot of chicken at the end of the rainbow. But before they can find it, Rip and Snort find them. There's only one way out - Hank challenges the coyote brothers to the Deadly Ha-Ha Game.

Junior is loving his life with the Khatchadorian family. But his idyllic life soon turns to terror when a mysterious individual begins to make trouble in the neighborhood. It starts with a mysterious howling in the night. And when Junior's pooch pals realize their favorite toys are missing, things get serious. Junior thinks he knows what is happening. He's heard of a mysterious creature called the Howly Wiener that visits town once a year and fills the street with monsters.

All ancient and indigenous peoples insisted their knowledge of plant medicines came from the plants themselves and not through trial-and-error experimentation. Less well known is that many Western peoples made this same assertion. There are, in fact, two modes of cognition available to all human beings - the brain-based linear and the heart-based holistic. The heart-centered mode of perception can be exceptionally accurate and detailed....

Leroy Ninker is a small man with a big dream: he wants to be a cowboy, but for now he's just a thief. In fact, Leroy is robbing the Watsons' kitchen right this minute! As he drags the toaster across the counter ( screeeeeech) and drops it into his bag ( clannngggg), little does he know that a certain large pig who loves toast with a great deal of butter is stirring from sleep.

One day in the park, the Aldens’ dog, Watch, comes across a mysterious box with a note inside. “Congratulations!” the note says. “You’ve found it!” The box is part of a game called Geocaching. Soon, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are searching all over town for hidden boxes and making friends with other kids in the geocaching club. But is one of the club members a thief?

Hank is in real trouble this time. Loper and Sally May's relatives are coming for Christmas dinner, and Sally May has been working to get the entire ranch in order - including preparing for the Christmas feast. Unfortunately, when she discovers that the turkey she bought has met a terrible end, she pins the blame on Hank! Is he the guilty party, or have more sinister forces been at work to frame him for the crime?

Of all the creatures of the deep blue, none is as captivating as the octopus. In Many Things Under a Rock, marine biologist David Scheel investigates four major mysteries about these elusive beings. How can we study an animal with perfect camouflage and secretive habitats? How does a soft and boneless creature defeat sharks and eels, while thriving as a predator of the most heavily armored animals in the sea? How do octopus bodies work? And how does a solitary animal form friendships, entice mates, and outwit rivals?

Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father may be head curator, but it is Theoand only Theowho is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum. Sneaking behind her fathers back, Theo uses old, nearly forgotten Egyptian magic to remove the curses and protect her father and the rest of the museum employees from the ancient, sinister forces that lurk in the museums dark hallways.

In The Golden Toad, Trevor and Kyle set off to investigate an environmental mystery with unexpected revelations, a story that speaks to our own collective and uncertain future. Guided by Costa Rican naturalists—including the last person to have seen the golden toad alive—Trevor searches for survivors while Kyle hunts the killer, and their paths lead them through an imperiled forest, a deadly pandemic, and a changing climate, intertwining at the site of the golden toad's last emergence deep in Monteverde's Bosque Eterno de Los Niños.

Tricked-up pickup! Hank the Cowdog is about to go on the ride of his life! When the old pickup truck breaks down, Slim ends up with a brand-new model on loan while the old one gets fixed. But Hank is used to the simple life on the ranch and doesn't know what to do when faced with power windows and door locks.

When the Aldens hear that Mr. Wood's cat Spotzie is missing, they immediately help out by putting up "LOST CAT" posters and going door-to-door with a photograph of the cat. But along the way, they meet some strange characters, receive frightening phone calls, and even find a cat that looks just like Spotzie - but is it? It seems that the more they search, the more mysterious the mystery becomes!