574.3

Could be used for initial research for science projects.

A selection of plants and animals of the world are presented in order of their longevity, and each reveals a special quality of their lifetime.

Provides examples of the natural lifetimes of different things in nature. It starts off with a mayfly who lives for one day -- and "teaches us that a lot can be done in just one day". Then butterflies (one month), corn (one year) ("corn reminds us to plan for the future"), army ant (3 years), hermit crab (5 years), earthworm (6 years), Venus flytrap (18 years), otter (20 years), emperor penguin (20 years), shark (25 years), vulture (35 years), chimpanzee (40 years), whale (45 years), African crocodile (50 years), elephant (65 years), cactus (100 years), bacteria (depends!), sequoia (2000 years), banyan tree (no one knows!), dinosaurs (who knows), earth (4.5 billion years+), sun (100m years older than Earth), universe (15-20b years), humans (85 years)..... and each offers us lessons. Each page has a Tell about it / Think about it / Look it up note at the bottom. Ends with "No matter how short, no matter how long, No matter how big, how smart or how strong, All life has a place, a purpose, and worth, All life is important on our planet Earth."