The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled.
chev_right_small instagram twitter youtube tiktok threads plus alert_in_circle basket basket_full chev_down chev_right cir_eye cir_pencil cir_puzzle c_scissors cross pencil message linkedin linked youtube link look paypal p_discover p_maestro p_mastercard p_paypal p_visa search secure sq_book sq_earphones sq_eye sq_message sq_pencil sq_play play sq_search star tick user user_in_circle wishlist zoom_big zoom_in zoom_out nav play_video download mail balance edit peeko
Skip to Content

On this website you can browse and buy Usborne books in English, French, German, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Dutch, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese.

In the UK and certain countries in Europe, you can buy directly from Usborne or from an Independent Usborne Partner. In the USA you can buy books via links to Usborne Books & More, the website of our US distributors.

Elsewhere in the world we provide links to local online retailers who will fulfil and deliver your order. Please check the retailer’s delivery destinations to make sure they deliver where you are.

In China, you can buy Usborne books in English and in Chinese (simplified characters) via online and offline retailers.

Welcome to

This event ends in
D:
H:
M:
S
Toggle Nav
Irresistible books for curious kids
  • Books
    • Browse by Age
      • 0 - 3 years
        • Viewing 0 - 3 years
        • 0+ months
        • 3+ months
        • 6+ months
        • 12+ months
        • 18+ months
        • 2+ years
        • 0 - 3 years
      • 3 - 5 years
      • 5 - 7 years
      • 7 - 11 years
      • 11 - 13 years
      • 13 years+
      • Browse by Age
    • Browse by Category
      • Summer Shop
      • Starting school
      • Activity books
        • Viewing Activity books
        • Colouring books
        • Drawing and doodling
        • Puzzles and quizzes
        • Sticker books
          • Viewing Sticker books
          • Sticker Dolly Dressing
          • Sticker books
        • Wipe-clean books
        • Rub-down transfer books
        • Write-in activity books
        • Activity books
      • History
        • Viewing History
        • Ancient Egypt
        • Ancient Greece
        • Ancient Rome
        • Art history
        • British history
        • Famous people and explorers
        • Knights and castles
        • Prehistoric times
        • Vikings
        • World wars
        • History
      • Science and technology
        • Viewing Science and technology
        • Space
        • Computers and coding
        • Human body
        • Science dictionaries
        • Technology and inventions
        • Transport and vehicles
        • Science and technology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Baby books
        • Viewing Baby books
        • Christmas books for babies
        • Board books
        • Cloth and fold-out books
        • Baby novelty books
        • THAT'S NOT MY®
          • Viewing THAT'S NOT MY®
          • Christmas
          • Fantasy
          • Farm animals
          • Wild animals
          • Pets
          • Vehicles
          • THAT'S NOT MY®
        • Baby books
      • Early years
        • Viewing Early years
        • Going to school
        • First skills
          • Viewing First skills
          • Learning to write
          • Numbers and first sums
          • Letters, shapes and colours
          • First skills
        • Phonics and learning to read
        • Nursery rhymes
        • Word books
        • Growing up and first experiences
        • Early years
      • English
        • Viewing English
        • Creative writing
        • Dictionaries
        • English
      • Fiction
        • Viewing Fiction
        • Animal stories
        • Classic stories
        • Fairy tales
        • Funny stories
        • Graphic novels
        • Story collections
        • Fiction
      • Foreign languages
      • Geography and environment
        • Viewing Geography and environment
        • Earth and the environment
        • Seas and oceans
        • Weather and climate
        • Activism
        • Geography and environment
      • Growing up and mental health
        • Viewing Growing up and mental health
        • Mental health and feelings
        • Relationships and Sex Education
        • Growing up and mental health
      • Hobbies and interests
        • Viewing Hobbies and interests
        • Art and crafts
        • Chess
        • Cooking and food
        • Fashion
        • General knowledge
        • Music
        • Nature and outdoors
        • Religions
        • Sports
        • Hobbies and interests
      • Libros en Español
      • Lift-the-flap books
      • Maths
        • Viewing Maths
        • Maths dictionaries
        • Puzzles and activities
        • Telling the time
        • Times tables
        • Maths
      • Picture books
        • Viewing Picture books
        • Picture book stories
        • Non-fiction picture books
        • Picture books
      • Read with Usborne
        • Viewing Read with Usborne
        • Read with Usborne Level 1
        • Read with Usborne Level 2
        • Read with Usborne Level 3
        • Read with Usborne Level 4
        • Read with Usborne
      • Class sets
      • Inclusive book recommendations for schools
      • Unicorns
      • Weddings
      • Jigsaws
      • Magic painting and fingerprinting
      • Sound and musical books
      • Browse by Category
    • Popular Themes
      • Summer Shop
        Summer Shop
      • Earth and the environment
        Earth and the environment
      • Mental health and feelings
        Mental health and feelings
      • Jigsaws
        Jigsaws
      • Sound and musical books
        Sound and musical books
    • Popular Series
      • Sticker Dolly Dressing
        Sticker Dolly Dressing
      • THAT'S NOT MY®
        THAT'S NOT MY®
      • Billy and the Mini Monsters
        Billy and the Mini Monsters
      • Farmyard Tales Poppy and Sam
        Farmyard Tales Poppy and Sam
      • Usborne Early Years Wipe-clean
        Usborne Early Years Wipe-clean
      • Key Skills
        Key Skills
      • 100 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT
        100 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT
    • New Books
    • Browse All Books
    • Books
  • Activities for Kids
    • Discover Activities for kids
    • Play and Learn at Home
    • Fact of the Week
    • Activity Sheets
    • Storytime Videos
    • Write a Story
  • Quicklinks
    • Discover Quicklinks
    • Quicklink of the Week
    • Browse Quicklinks Books
    • How to Say
    • Online Safety
    • Quicklinks Help
  • Schools
    • Resources
    • Fact Force
  • About Us
    • Meet the Family
    • Sustainability
    • What We Stand For
    • Safety
    • Careers
    • Global
    • Trade
    • Blog
    • Press
  • Fact of the Week
  • Sign In / Register Sign Out
  • Buying Options
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Meet the Family
  • Sustainability
  • What We Stand For
  • Safety
  • Careers
  • Global
  • Trade
  • Blog
  • Press
  • More options
    • Home
    • Usborne Blog
    • Tips and expert advice
    • Zanna's Nature Notes: Nature's Mysterie...

    Usborne Blog

    • Tips and expert advice
    Zanna Davidson
    Zanna Davidson
    July 28, 2020
    Share
    • Share this page on Facebook
    • Share this page on Twitter
    • Share this page on Pinterest

    Zanna's Nature Notes: Nature's Mysteries

    Zanna's Nature Notes:  Nature's Mysteries

    Discover the amazing natural world around you with Usborne author Zanna Davidson. 

    Nature, it turns out, is full of mysteries. Sometimes it’s a bird, zooming overhead, far too fast for me to identify. Other times, it’s a heap of feathers on the ground. Who did they belong to? Why are they here? Or it could be animal tracks in the mud, or a strange call in the dark?

    But this week, I wanted to look at one of the strangest mysteries of all… LUMPS AND BUMPS!

    It began back in April, when I noticed clumps of round, woody balls on the oak trees on our walk down to the village.

    Strange woody balls on the oak tree. They’re definitely not acorns. What could they be?

    A few months later, I saw something similar on the leaves of an alder tree - only this time, the lumps were tiny and green.

    Lots and lots of lumps this time… does the tree have a disease?

    And then, most bizarre of all, THIS on the leaf of a wild rose. It’s bright red, and looks more like a sea creature than anything you’d expect to see on land. What’s going on?

    A scarlet, hairy growth on the leaf of a wild rose. Very mysterious!

    I started investigating… and was amazed at what I discovered. I could never have guessed it!

    Each of these growths, known as galls, were made by tiny insects, less than a few millimetres long.  And it all started very shortly after they hatched.

    The first gall - the one on the oak tree - was made by the larvae, or grubs, of the oak marble gall wasp. The female gall wasp had laid her eggs on the twigs of the oak tree. When the eggs hatched, the grubs released chemicals that changed the way the oak tree grew. Instead of growing normally, it began to form these round woody structures, which grew around the developing grubs, providing them with shelter, food and nutrients. ISN’T THAT INCREDIBLE!

    The galls on the alder leaf were made by tiny mites. When the mites are fully grown, they leave the gall through a tiny hole under the leaf. Then they spend the winter hiding in crevices in the tree bark.

    The last, sea creaturely-looking thing, is called a Robin’s pincushion. Like the oak galls, this one is caused by the larvae of a gall wasp, only by a different species. Inside each gall are lots and lots of tiny grubs. They’ll stay inside the gall all winter, finally emerging in the spring as adults.

    Solve your own nature mystery

    • Keep an eye out for feathers and empty bird eggs on the ground. Can you identify them?
    • Looks for galls of your own. Remember the leaf or plant that you find them on. Take a note of the colour and shape and then look them up on the internet when you get home.
    • Can you help me with a nature mystery? I found these feathers and empty egg shells in my garden. Do you know which birds they belong to?

    Scroll down for answers!

    Mystery egg 1
    Mystery egg 1
    Mystery egg 2
    Mystery egg 2
    Mystery feather 1
    Mystery feather 1
    Mystery feather 2
    Mystery feather 2

    Nature mystery quiz answers

    Mystery egg 1: Robin

    Mystery eggs 2: Pigeon

    Mystery feather 1: Jay

    Mystery feather 2: Pheasant

    Share
    • Share this page on Facebook
    • Share this page on Twitter
    • Share this page on Pinterest

    About the Author

    Zanna Davidson
    Zanna Davidson
    July 28, 2020
    Zanna writes fiction and non-fiction for Usborne. Her favourite things to write about are small monsters and talking animals. She used to live in London but now lives in a cottage on the edge of some woods. She is only sorry there are no bears or witches in them.

    More from Zanna Davidson

    More in this blog category

    • Behind the scenes at Usborne, Tips and expert advice
      How to talk to children about love

      Find out how to talk to young children about love, and why it’s so important. Usborne author, Katie Daynes, shares the main lessons she learned from writing Very First Questions and Answers: What is love?

       

       

      Katie Daynes
      Katie Daynes
    • Tips and expert advice
      Ten-year-old planet champion, Sofia Züger, on her love for What is mud? and campaigning with Save Soil

      Sofia Züger loves talking to children and families about the importance of soil and why we should save it from going extinct.

      Sofia Züger
    • Tips and expert advice
      Why Usborne's Very First Questions Books work well for my neurodivergent son

      To support Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we hear from an Usborne editor about her experiences sharing Usborne’s ‘Lift-the-Flap Very First Questions and Answers’ books with her son, who has recently been diagnosed with autism. 

    Useful Links

    • Buying Options
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Settings
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Modern Slavery Statement

    Menu

    • Books
    • Activities For Kids
    • Quicklinks
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Fact of the Week

    Contact

    FAQ and Help

    Trade Enquiries

    Press Information

     

    Connect

    • Follow Us on Instagram
    • Follow Us on Facebook
    • Follow Us on Youtube
    • Follow Us on Tiktok
    • Follow Us on Twitter
    • Follow Us on Threads

     

    About Us

    Usborne is one of the world’s leading independent book publishers. We are proud to be a family business that aims to create brilliant books for children of all ages.

    ©2025 Usborne Publishing Limited

    Site by Superb