Animal Emotions

Noted science writer Virginia Morell explores the frontiers of research on animal cognition and emotion, offering a surprising and moving exploration into the hearts and minds of wild and domesticated animals.

It takes only one day at their new school for Parker and Sven to become mortal enemies. Parker's had a terrible summer and just wants to be invisible while Sven is desperate to make an impression and be known as anything other than 'that boy with epilepsy'. When Parker discovers her beloved dog, Alaska - whom she had to give away last year - now belongs to Sven, she's determined to steal her back. Of course, that's easier said than done.

The name of Charles Darwin is known to nearly all who have had the benefit of a Western-style education. It is synonymous with the theory of evolution and due to his perspective of man as an animal, his worked ushered in a new paradigm of understanding of the physical and mental behavior of man. However, because of the immense impact of his best known theory, most know only of his work through reviews and historical reports.

Polly Pecorino rescues animals, and she can talk to them, too. She spends all of her time caring for those at Happy Days Zoo, where the devious owners, Mr and Mrs Snell, will do anything to make money. One day, they steal a bear cub, certain that he will do wonders for ticket sales, but the ferocious bears living in Wild Bear Woods want their cub back. Will Polly be brave enough to stand up to the Snells and take Booboo, the bear cub, back where he belongs?

When 13-year-old Mia finally reveals a closely-guarded secret, it soon echoes throughout her school. She was born with synesthesia, a neurological cross-wiring that lets her see sounds, taste shapes, and smell colors. To Mia, the letter A glows with faded sunflower-yellow, screeching chalk sizzles with jagged red sparks, and her cat's voice puffs with orange-mango haze. How can Mia "the alien" find acceptance and self-worth?

The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws. In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see?

Sylvester is a rock collector. One day he finds a magic pebble that makes wishes come true. He rushes home to share his good fortune with his parents. On the way, he’s frightened by a hungry lion and quickly asks the pebble to turn him into a rock, so the lion can’t eat him. It works - but there sits Sylvester on Strawberry Hill with no way to hold the pebble to wish himself back into a donkey. Seasons come and go as Sylvester’s parents desperately search for him....

Even though twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii, she won’t surf or swim with her friends - not since the ocean and its hidden creatures swept her out to sea. Instead, she grabs her best detective hat and decodes her mom’s latest challenge.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle, that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Peppa and her friends have some big feelings to explore! Follow Peppa and her friends through experiences that make them cross or sad, scared or shy, and begin to talk about these emotions, too. Have you had these feelings before? Together, with Peppa and her friends we can navigate these big feelings. Learn with Peppa: Peppa and Friends explores a range of common emotions and helps children understand how they can appropriately express their own thoughts and feelings whenever they may feel overwhelmed.

Hockey is Conor's life. His whole life. He'll say it himself, he's a hockey beast. It's his dad's whole life too - and Conor is sure that's why his stepmom, Jenny, left. There are very few things Conor and his dad love more than the game, and one of those things is their Doberman, Sinbad. When Sinbad is diagnosed with cancer, Conor chooses to put his hockey lessons and practices on hold so they can pay for Sinbad's chemotherapy. But without hockey to distract him, Conor begins to notice more. Like his dad's crying bouts, and his friend's difficult family life.

Meet Minerva, a doggie who's been very naughty today, as her parents would say. She ripped all the stuffing out of dad's comfiest chair, she peeled off wallpaper, she knocked over the milk, and she even poked her poor brother. But despite all her mischief, no one is paying any attention to her. What does a cute little Boston terrier like Minerva have to do to get noticed?

Kit-with-a-small-k is navigating middle school with a really big, really strange secret: When she's stressed, she turns into a naked mole rat. It first happened after kit watched her best friend, Clem, fall and get hurt during an acrobatic performance on TV. Since then, the transformations keep happening - whether kit wants them to or not. Kit can't tell Clem about it, because after the fall, Clem just hasn't been herself. She's sad and mad and gloomy, and keeping a secret of her own: the real reason she fell.

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla who has spent his life performing for the crowds at the Exit 8 shopping mall. He rarely misses life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly thinks about it at all. But everything changes when a baby elephant called Ruby arrives and Ivan realises he must find a new life for them both.

Mama's Last Hug opens with the dramatic farewell between Mama, a dying 59-year-old chimpanzee matriarch, and biologist Jan Van Hooff. This heartfelt final meeting of two longtime friends offers a window into how deep and instantly recognizable these bonds can be. So begins Frans de Waal's whirlwind tour of new ideas and findings about animal emotions, based on his renowned studies of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees, bonobos, and other primates.

Yoga is a great way to stimulate your mind and keep yourself active by learning how to mimic animal behavior. Even kids can do yoga too! Enjoy posing as a sitting butterfly, stretching your arm and leg muscles with downward dog, or posing like a cat while stretching your body and mind.

April has always marched to the beat of her own drum, but would life be easier if she learned to fit in? Now that she's in Year 8, things have got even worse. She's much more likely to be trying to rescue an animal in need than worrying about who's dating who at school, which April just finds BORING. Plus, her lessons feel like they're in a foreign language, and it suddenly seems impossible to make it through the week without landing in detention. As family worries and classroom romances ramp up, it feels like everyone around her is pulling away - even her best friend Ben.

James splits his life between his mum’s and his dad’s houses. It’s far from perfect. Especially now Dad doesn’t have time for bike rides with him any more and Mum’s always with her new boyfriend. The constant is Digger, his dog and best friend. He’s the glue that holds the two halves of James’ life together. So when James finds a lump on Digger’s leg, everything changes. Digger is the one he can talk to about anything. But when it’s Digger he needs to talk about, where can he turn?

Ten-year-old Ava has swapped city life for mud, wellies and animals on Whistledown Farm while her parents are working abroad. With the arrival of Autumn and as the leaves begins to fall, she rescues a tawny owl called Ruby. As she helps him learn to fly, she soon realises that learning to love means letting go as well.

When 12-year-old Mira stumbles across a white stallion in a forest in Berlin, she doesn’t realise that this horse will take her on an incredible journey. Together, they’re going to ascend the starry heights of Grand Prix show jumping and sweep back in time to Poland in 1939, where another young girl is risking everything to save the horse that she loves....