Wilberforce, Bert

Certain species of bats get their chilling name from a legendary monster, the vampire, and like these revolting fantasy creatures, these bats really do drink the blood of animals. Luckily, vampire bats don't harm people; they're much more interested in the blood of livestock and forest animals. Their bites are so small that they're often undetected by the animals they feed on.

Everyone finds some kind of food distasteful. That might be broccoli for some or olives for others. This book puts those foods into perspective, and young readers will eat it up. They'll learn that bird parents will do anything to bring their chicks the nutrition they need and in a form they can ingest. That sometimes means chicks eat vomit.

Young naturalists learn early that when butterflies and moths first hatch from an egg, they're in the form of caterpillars. They probably don't know that as caterpillars grow, they shed skin, and then eat it.