Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants & Animals Among California's Oaks

Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants & Animals Among California’s Oaks By Kate Marianchild, Illustrations by Ann Meyer Maglinte A Californian may vacation in Yosemite, Big Sur, or Death Valley, but many of us come home to an oak woodland. Yet, while common, oak woodlands are anything but ordinary. In a book rich in illustration and suffused with wonder, author Kate Marianchild combines extensive research and years of personal experience to explore some of the marvelous plants and animals that the oak woodlands nurture. Acorn woodpeckers unite in marriages of up to ten mates and raise their young cooperatively. Ground squirrels roll in rattlesnake skins to hide their scent from hungry snakes. Manzanita’s rust-colored, paper-thin bark peels away in time for the summer solstice, exposing sinuous contours that are cool to the touch even on the hottest day. Conveying up-to-the-minute scientific findings with a storyteller’s skill, Marianchild introduces us to a host of remarkable creatures in a world close by, a world that “rustles, hums, and sings with the sounds of wild things.” “Kate Marianchild’s beautiful and celebratory work guides us through an exploration of trees, trunks, and the creatures that make them home. Open this book and join this biologically diverse community. You’ll be glad you did.”—Dan Gluesenkamp, executive director, California Native Plant Society Paperback, with flaps, 6 x 8, 224 pages, with 36 watercolors and illustrations Price: $18.00 ISBN978-1-59714-262-5