Finding Family: An Interview with Author Laura Purdie Salas and Illustrator Alexandria Neonakis

In May 2019, researchers on a lake in northern Wisconsin made a strange discovery: a pair of loons seemed to be raising a mallard duckling! Normally loons and mallards are rival species, but somehow these three—two childless parents and an orphaned chick—found each other. Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons, by author Laura Purdie Salas and illustrator Alexandria Neonakis, tells the true story of this unlikely family through intriguing verse and striking illustrations. To learn more about how this heartwarming picture book about animal cooperation came together, read on.

From badgers to pteropods, kids can’t get enough of animals! Today we’ll share some of our upcoming titles that combine our love of interesting creatures with cool concepts like art, conservation, and bioengineering.

Continue reading to find upcoming titles for all grade levels and the links to take a sneak peek on NetGalley!

It’s almost 2022, and we’re excited for readers to discover the many incredible books that will be released! Want a sneak peek at what’s coming? Check out video previews from our editors, get digital ARCs on NetGalley, and browse our new spring catalogs!

The Wild West may be a little wilder than you think. For thousands of years, jaguars roamed portions of Arizona, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, and sometimes ventured into Colorado, Oklahoma, Virginia, and North Carolina. But today, jaguars are mostly absent from the United States. American Jaguar: Big Cats, Biogeography, and Human Borders by wildlife biologist Elizabeth Webb takes a deep dive into the jaguar’s current predicament and highlights the work of field scientists searching for ways to restore their populations.

Have you ever seen a bird with a beak like a straw? How about a bird with a beak that looks like a pair of tweezers? Get ready to see these birds and many more in A Peek at Beaks: Tools Birds Use by Sara Levine and illustrated by Kate Slater. Structured as a guessing game, this playful picture book introduces young readers to the science and anatomy of different bird species. Discover how birds’ beaks resemble—and can be used like—tools!

Today author Sara Levine and illustrator Kate Slater join us to share their most surprising moments while creating the book, their hopes for young readers, and much more.