Why Don't Jellyfish Have Brains?

Does a jellyfish have a brain? A heart? Any bones at all? And how can something that is almost entirely water hunt, sting, and survive for 500 million years?

Jellyfish were drifting through the oceans before dinosaurs walked, before trees grew and before the first shark appeared. They have no brain, no bones, no heart and no blood - and kids have a lot of questions about them.

This book answers 150 of them. Every question gets its own big illustrated page, written so a six-year-old can follow along and a twelve-year-old won't find it babyish. There is no need to start at the beginning - flip to whichever question looks best.

• How a sting actually works, and why a jellyfish never aims at anybody
• Why one washed up on the sand can still sting days later
• What to do if you get stung - and why the old playground myth is simply wrong
• How a lion's mane grows tentacles as long as a blue whale
• Which jellyfish has twenty-four eyes
• How one kind can turn back into a baby instead of dying of old age
• Why jellyfish have been flown into space

Twelve chapters cover the basics, body parts, stinging and staying safe, eating, moving and drifting, where they live, growing up, glowing and colors, record breakers, friends and enemies, jellyfish and people, and a closing run of weird and wonderful facts.

Written for curious readers ages 6 to 12. One question per page, a friendly hand-drawn illustration on every single one, and answers that reflect what scientists have actually observed - including the ones where the honest answer is "nobody is sure yet."

A note for parents: the stinging chapter teaches children to get out of the water and tell a grown-up straight away. It is not a first-aid guide and does not pretend to be one.

A perfect gift for ocean lovers, aquarium visitors, reluctant readers who would rather have facts than stories, and anyone who has ever prodded a jellyfish on the beach with a stick.

150 questions. 150 answers. One very strange animal.