Asia

Penned by award-winning natural history author Tim Harris, the “Wildlife Worlds” series takes readers on a fascinating journey to all of the world’s continents where they will learn about the landforms, flora and fauna from various regions of each continent. Harris knows of what he speaks. After studying Norwegian glaciers at university, he became interested in the natural world. Among other places, his travels took him to the Namib Desert, the slopes of Popocatépetl (an active stratovolcano in Mexico), the Sumatran rainforest, and the frozen Sea of Okhotsk. The books have eye-catching covers and an attractive layout. Despite the information’s being a general overview of specific areas within each continent, Harris captures the reader’s attention with his engaging text and wonderful full-colour photographs, a winning combination that is bound to pique the reader’s interest and desire to learn more. All of the books begin with a general introduction to the featured continent, along with a map showing the various regions. The remaining chapters focus on each of 12 specific areas, with a double-page spread devoted to each one. A table of contents, a glossary, an index, and a list of books and websites for further study are included.

Asia boasts a greater variety of landscapes than any other continent – tundra, deserts, tropical rain forests, mangrove forests, steppes, wetlands and coral reefs. It is a land of superlatives: Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world; Russia’s Lake Baikal, not only the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume but also the deepest; the largest mangrove forest and the biggest flower, belonging to the corpse lily that grows to be one meter across. In Asia, readers will learn about the harsh conditions of the Gobi Desert where the massive Singing Dunes make a sound as the wind blows through them, the Tubbataha Reef’s golf ball-sized blue-ringed octopus whose rings flash blue to scare away predators, and karst formations in South China – pinnacles, rock bridges, cliffs and canyons formed by water shaping limestone over 300 million years. Among other topics in this title are the Kamchatka Peninsula, Mount Fuji, the Himalayas, and the Ganges River.

Educational, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable, the “Wildlife Worlds” series offers readers a glimpse into the diverse natural world of the Earth’s continents and an opportunity to marvel at Mother Nature’s handiwork.