Nursery Earth

The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

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Pub Date 06 Jun 2023 | Archive Date 05 Jun 2023

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Description

This file is NOT currently available for Kindle. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have difficulties with downloading, please email us (at publicity@theexperimentpublishing.com) for assistance or leave a note in lieu of a review rating. 

In the animal kingdom, surviving to adulthood is hardly child’s play. Enter the perilous world of animal babies, where Mother Nature is at her most ingenious—and biologists keep finding fresh surprises.

It’s time to pay attention to baby animals. From egg to tadpole, chick to fledgling, they offer scientists a window into questions of immense importance: How do genes influence health? Which environmental factors support—or obstruct—life? Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or tentacles, or jointed exoskeletons) of animal babies. At any given moment, babies represent the majority of animal life on Earth.

In Nursery Earth, researcher Danna Staaf invites readers into the sibling (and, sometimes, clashing) fields of ecology and developmental biology. The tiny, hidden lives that these scientists study in the lab and in the wild reveal some of nature’s strangest workings: A salamander embryo breathes with the help of algae inside its cells. The young grub of a Goliath beetle dwarfs its parents. The spotted beak of a parasitic baby bird tricks adults of other species into feeding it. Mouse embryos can absorb cancerous cell grafts—and develop into healthy adults.

Our bias toward adult animals (not least because babies can be hard to find) means these wonders have long gone under-researched. But for all kinds of animals, if we overlook their babies, we miss out on the most fascinating—and consequential—time in the lives of their species. Nursery Earth makes the case that these young creatures are not just beings in progress but beings in their own right. And our planet needs them all: the maggots as much as the kittens!

This file is NOT currently available for Kindle. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have difficulties with downloading, please email us (at publicity@theexperimentpublishing.com) for...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781615199327
PRICE $27.95 (USD)
PAGES 280

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Average rating from 16 members


Featured Reviews

So often, the beginning of an animal’s life is overlooked for the exciting adulthood or the sobering end. The only usual attention given baby animals is how adorable they are or into what they will grow. Nursery Earth by Danna Staaf provides a fascinating look into the foundational moments of some of nature’s most interesting creatures. I love how Staaf’s mind works. The significance of “babies being a link across time in space” was expertly laid out and curated to the point where I gobbled up all of it. Glass frogs pee on their eggs. Every single one of us is a holobiont. A pin-tail whydah is the new cuckoo. Condors are terrific adoptive parents. I could go on and on. Would be wonderful for homeschool or supplemental upper grade science reading or for anyone with a passion for animals or babies or both.

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I would say that this is the perfect addition to the book collection of anyone who enjoys babies, animals and wants to learn more about the topic!
It's really cientifically accurate, but in a way that everyone can understand.
I really enjoyed the little interesting facts and images throught the book, which makes it accessible for both scientists and people with totally diferent backgrounds.

As a Biologist myself, althought not in the invertebrate area, I really enjoyed this book, learned a few new things, and wish I had access to it while I was in university (it would have been a big help in severall of my classes!).

Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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A really engaging and accessible text about baby animals. Whilst there is quite a lot of scientific terminology and concepts, it is written in a way that is easy to follow. Some great photographs as well.

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Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC for review.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a well researched book and you really can feel the author’s passion about her field of research.
It does go pretty in depth in the description of many studies. As such, it isn’t a book I would recommend to people who just want to learn quick fun facts. The book could get boring to someone who isn’t interested in the methodology of scientific research.
If you pick this book, you will learn many amazing facts about animal reproduction of all kind and how truly impressive many life forms are.
The chapters build on each other as the author references concepts explained earlier to help describe newly presented concepts.

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I enjoyed this book. Dr. Danna Staaf has created a fun read that has a great conversational tone. All the science is well-explained and Staaf writes with a good sense of humor. There is some witty wording in the book and some very good personal anecdotes. I feel that these anecdotes create a closer bond between writer and reader. The photos and illustrations are excellent. I recommend it for anyone interested in biology. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the digital review copy.

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Thank you to NetGalley and The Experiment for an EARC copy of Nursery Earth by Danna Staaf.

This was a beautifully written book about babies of the earth and a reminder that earth is a mother to all, no matter the difficulties. Dr. Danna Staaf's writing is personable, educational, and easy to understand which makes the book accessible for all. The illustrations were a plus, it helped to understand what she was talking about when I couldn't picture what she was describing. It is certainly a book for those who are interested in biology and animals.

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An interesting and informative read about baby animals and the environment. It’s easy to assume that this book is a children’s book when it’s actually a science adult read. Very interesting subject matter that will keep you engaged.

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I love the animal world and I feel like the baby animal aspect is definitely overlooked in adult literature. So it was nice to see a book specifically about baby animals. Starting from their birth and following them as they are raised, “leave the nest” and some of their juvenile life on their own I found this book to be quite interesting.

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First, I love the cover!!!! The colour combination and illustration are soooo gooood👌
I love the story telling. It keeps the book informative and scientific. But the first person point of view make it more interesting ✨

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read and a very cool book! The author has a nice perspective since she is a scientist herself, and in the book she was able to speak with so many other scientists about their work studying baby animals, which was a delight. Many different types of baby animals were covered in this book, and quite a lot of information was related to larvae of sea animals especially. I learned so much about how much animals can change during development stages, and about how little we know about this process for many animals in the first place. Recommended if you like animals at all :)

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This was an incredibly cute book! We know that they are adorable, but until reading this book I wasn't completely educated on just how much they contribute to life. With a keen way of describing and writing, I felt able to understand the scientific facts that were being written, something that's really important to me as I enjoy science but often get lost in scientific terminology. The cover of this book is beautiful as well and it was a quick, enjoyable reading experience!

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