Color in Nature: Secrets of Animal Survival

Color in Nature: Secrets of Animal Survival
by Stephen Aitken (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Animals like rainbow-colored parrots, red-nosed mandrills and brilliant blue peacocks use their vibrant colors to survive. Golden finches, bright blue mandarin fish and orange poison dart frogs use their colors to get noticed. Arctic foxes and octopuses change their colors to blend into their habitats. Birds, mammals, frogs, fish, reptiles and insects use a full palette of color to defend themselves, hunt for food, attract mates, hide from predators and often to stand out from their rivals. But even with the power of color on their side, many of these species, their habitats and food sources are under threat. We need to conserve the entire spectrum of the animal world to maintain a healthy and colorful planet for all life on Earth.

Snippet:

The author, Stephen Aitken, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)

Twice Enslaved


by Selene Castrovilla (Author) and Erin K. Robinson (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Henrietta Wood was born enslaved. As a teen she was ripped from her family and sold. Years later, a miracle happened, and she was given freedom papers. But Henrietta’s freedom was short-lived. She was tricked back into enslavement and sent to a Mississippi cotton plantation.

On June 19, 1865—Juneteenth—she was emancipated. Finally free for good, Henrietta Wood sued the man who had kidnapped her back into enslavement—and she won! Henrietta was one of the few people in United States history to ever receive a reparation payment for slavery.

Snippet:

The author, Selene Castrovilla, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)