Nonfiction Monday is hosted today by Stacking Books.

For Nonfiction Monday --  "Biomimicry" written by Dora Lee and illustrated by Margot Thompson.

Biomimicry is defined in the dictionary as: the mimicking of life using imitation biological systems.

Lee explains that "Biomimicry is a way of thinking that encourages scientists, inventors and ordinary people to study nature and use its solutions to solve our problems."  She encourages readers to consider all the ways we've already begun this process.  Airplanes? Birds flew first.  Sonar? Bats beat us to that one.  Velcro? Thank the cockleburs that inspired George de Mestral.

Lee takes the discussion to another level by looking at developing or future uses such as competition swimwear modeled on sharkskin, a Zimbabwe building with air conditioning modeled after the efficient cooling of a termite mound, self cleaning painting inspired by the lotus flower, and NASA's seed-wing flyer for off-planet exploration.

Thompson's illustrations are richly colored glimpses of the natural world under discussion.