HORSESHOE CRABS, Find Out More in LIVING FOSSILS: CLUES TO THE PAST

Horseshoe crab shell. 

One hundred and fifty thousand years ago, a horseshoe crab crawled onto the shore of a shallow lagoon in what is now southern Germany and searched for worms and shellfish in the damp sand. Nearby, dinosaurs preyed on insects and small animals, and lizards sat in the sun. In the air, winged reptiles soared and one of the earliest birds, archaeopteryx, flapped its wings. Their remains have been preserved as fossils.

The dinosaurs and winged reptiles are long gone, but horseshoe crabs are still with us, changed little from ancient times. They are living fossils. On a recent visit to the beach in Lewes, Delaware, I encountered dozens of horseshoe crabs washed up onto the sand. Every year thousands of horseshoe crabs congregate on the beaches of the eastern United States to mate and lay eggs.

Learn more about horseshoe crabs and other living fossils in my book LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past (Charlesbridge, 2016.) Look for it in your library, online, or at your local bookstore.

Horseshoe crabs coming to shore to lay eggs, pp. 10-11. Illust. by Andrew Plant.

Title page of LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past

LIBRARY VISIT, LEWES, DELAWARE

In front of the Lewes, Delaware, Public Library.

Whenever I travel, I always like to stop in at the local library to meet the children’s librarian, see what is going on, and find out which of my books might be on the library shelves. On my recent visit to Lewes, Delaware, for a family vacation, I went to the Lewes Public Library, conveniently located next to the town history museum, which I also visited.

In the library I had a nice chat with the librarians at the front desk who looked up my books on the library website. (The children’s librarian was not there that day.) I learned that many of my books are available throughout the Delaware state library system, including my very first book Five Nests. I was glad to see that the Lewes town library has three of my books including Hatching Chicks in Room 6, A Warmer World, and A Penguin’s World.

Outside the library is an historic locomotive complete with caboose, an exciting draw for young and old train fans.

FUN WITH ADJECTIVES CHEETAH POSTER: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Class poster about cheetahs.

Many of my books are about animals and when I do school visits I often find that these are the books the children have read, especially if they have done animal reports. At one school I visited the class had read my book about cheetahs, focusing on all the adjectives in the book that described the cheetah. Then, as an art project, they made a large poster of cheetahs and the words they had learned.

My book CHEETAH is available online as an ebook.

FISH IN SCHOOL: How Kids are Helping Trout is a JLG GOLD SELECTION for Spring 2027

I was thrilled to learn that my upcoming new book FISH IN SCHOOL: How Kids are Helping Trout (Millbrook Publishing, March 2, 2027) has been selected as a Junior Library Guild book for the Spring 2027 list! The Junior Library Guild is a subscription service that brings "buzz worthy books to readers every month." It is an honor to have my book available at JLG.

You've heard of a school of fish, but have you ever seen fish in school? Classrooms across the US are helping to raise trout. Follow along with students at two Northern California schools as they learn about trout life cycles, watch eggs hatch and develop into fry in their classrooms, and finally release the fish into local waterways. The program culminates with a tour of a local fish hatchery where trout are raised to give them a stronger chance of surviving to adulthood.

You can preorder FISH IN SCHOOL: How Kids are Helping Trout at the Lerner website after November 1, 2026. 

It is also available for preorder at Amazon.

Some of my other books that have been Junior Library Guild selections include HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 (2017), A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 (2022). YOUR SKELETAL SYSTEM (2014) and BIRDS: NATURE’S MAGNIFICENT FLYING MACHINES (2003).