Most Popular Books by Jay Hosler

Optical Allusions is for those people seeking a painstakingly researched, scientifically accurate, eye-themed comic book adventure! Wrinkles the Wonder Brain has lost his bosses eye and now he has to search all of human imagination for it. Along the way, he confronts biology head on and accidentally learns more about eyes and the evolution of vision than he thought possible. And, as if a compelling story with disembodied talking brains, shape-changing proteins, and giant robot eyes wasn't enough, each tale is followed by a fully illustrated, in-depth exploration of the ideas introduced in the comic story. Designed to be a hybrid college text book/comic book, Optical Allusions is suitable for advanced readers with an interest in evolution and real science. 127 pages.

Nestled in the grass under the big palm tree by the edge of the desert there is an entire civilization--a civilization of beetles. In this bug's paradise, beetles write books, run restaurants, and even do scientific research. But not too much scientific research is allowed by the powerful elders, who guard a terrible secret about the world outside the shadow of the palm tree. Lucy is not one to quietly cooperate, however. This tiny field scientist defies the law of her safe but authoritarian home and leads a team of researchers out into the desert. Their mission is to discover something about the greater world...but what lies in wait for them is going to change everything Lucy thought she knew. Beetles are not the only living creatures in the world. Deftly combining suspenseful adventure storytelling with the principles and tools of scientific inquiry, entomologist and cartoonist Jay Hosler has created in Last of the Sandwalkers a tale that satisfies and fascinates even the most bug-averse among us.

A graphic novel retelling of the inspiring true story of polymath Santiago Ramón y Cajal, visionary pioneer of modern neuroscience, and his early dreams of becoming an artist. Based on a true story, Santiago Ramón y Cajal is every child who has struggled to navigate the expectations of adults. As a young boy, all Santiago wanted to do was be an artist. But his father wanted him to become a doctor, insisting that pursuing art was not a true profession. Although Santiago was forbidden by his parents to make art, Santiago secretly kept at it—making homemade paints and brushes and honing his craftsmanship. He also loved figuring out how things worked and made slingshots for his friends and even a fully functioning (and very dangerous) cannon. Sadly, the one thing he couldn’t figure out was his father. After years of locking horns, Santiago’s father seemed to win, and Santiago was sent to medical school. As a medical student he discovered the wonders of how animal bodies work, and his studies eventually led him to the microscopic mysteries of the brain. Using the artistic skills he honed as a child, Santiago painted brain cells to unlock their secrets. His pursuit of art had trained him to be observant, persistent, resourceful, and creative in his research. In 1906, he won the Nobel Prize for medicine and is considered the father of modern neuroscience—proving anything is possible, even for a mischief maker. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

A Kirkus Best Middle Grade Book of 2024 Insect-extraordinaire Jay Hosler is back, this time exploring how we seek to understand ourselves and the world around us through the eyes of one of our world’s tiniest creatures: the ant. Meet Rubi, a tiny ant with a big personality and an even bigger love for stories. Who knew the small world of her colony could be full of unexpected friendships, epic adventures, and death-defying escapes? Follow Rubi on the journey of a lifetime as she uncovers the mystery and wonder of one of the world’s tiniest, mightiest insects.

“A wonderful graphic novel.”—Neil Gaiman Experience the life of a honeybee in this coming-of-age story about a bee named Nyuki, in this full-color graphic novel by Jay Hosler, perfect for curious kids who are fans of the Science Comics series. Nyuki is a brand-new honeybee—and she has a lot of questions. Like: When does a bee go through metamorphosis? Why does a queen bee sometimes leave her hive? And where does all this honey come from, anyway?! But Nyuki’s biggest question is, “What is this inner voice I hear, and why does it tell me to go forth to adventure? Follow Nyuki on a lifelong journey as she annoys her sisters, avoids predators, and learns to trust her inner voice as she masters the way of the hive. And if you still have questions at the end, the back of the book uncovers even more mysteries about the lives of these incredible insects! Junior Library Guild Selection Kirkus Reviews Best Books Evanston Public Library's Blueberry List Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nomination

Designed for computer novices, this guide leads beginners through basic command and word processing skills in 18 clearly-presented lessons. Hands-on activities provide actual experience on computers while review sections reinforce all of the techniques that are completely new to readers.

Active Synapse proudly presents the only official hardcover edition of the award-winning Clan Apis! The life cycle and natural environment of the honeybee becomes the story kernel for Dr. Jay Hosler, a professor of biology as well as a cartoonist and storyteller. Opening with a honeybee-centered creation myth, we work through the many real biological, sociological, and ecological changes affecting the life of Nyuki, a brand new honeybee. The interior pages are fully illustrated with clean lines in crisp black and white. The text itself is a combination of authoritative science wrapped in a witty dialogue replete with humor, pubescent angst, terrible puns, heart-warming charm, and so much more. Nyuki matures as her colony undertakes migration to a new hive, is beset upon by enemies, and hibernates through a winter that yields to a revitalizing spring. The bee characters are nicely individualized as are the friendly plants and other talking insects that figure into their lives. All in all, this is the sort of wholesome story that will appeal to everyone, readers and non-readers alike, while sneaking in a little science education as a bonus. Suitable for all ages and makes an excellent gift.

An accessible graphic introduction to evolution for the most science-phobic reader Illustrated by the brilliant duo Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon, this volume is written by the noted comic author and professor of biology Jay Hosler. Evolution features the same characters introduced in the highly regarded The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA, now here to explain the fundamentals of the evolution of life on earth. On the heels of explaining to his planetary leader the intricacies of human genetics in The Stuff of Life, the intrepid alien scientist Bloort-183 is charged in this sequel with covering the wider story of evolution. Using the same storytelling conceit that Plenty magazine declared "so charming that you won't even notice you've absorbed an entire scientific field" and that caused Seed to pick The Stuff of Life as a best book of 2008, Evolution brilliantly answers Wired's demand, "What's the solution to America's crisis in science education? More comic books!" Evolution, the most accessible graphic work on this universally studied subject, takes the reader from earth's primordial soup to the vestigial structures, like the coccyx and the male nipple, of modern humans. Once again, the award-winning illustrations of the Cannons render the complex clear and everything cleverly comedic. And in Hosler, Evolution has an award-winning biology teacher whose science comics have earned him a National Science Foundation grant and an interview on NPR's Morning Edition.

The Sandwalk Adventures is a fanciful tale of follicle mites that just happen to be living in the left eyebrow of Charles Darwin himself. To the mites, their host Darwin is a god, known as Flycatcher, and stories of his mighty ocean-spewing, world-creating powers have been handed down from generation to generation...of eyebrow mites. Upon hearing of their colorfully explained misunderstanding of who he actually is, Darwin sets the mites straight...after he convinces himself that the curious voices in his head are just ordinary voices...in his eyebrow. A humorous series of illustrated lessons in natural selection and evolution ensues and a warm-hearted story, and history lesson, about one of the greatest naturalists of all time unfolds with it. Recommended for readers with an interest in real science bounced off the funny bone. Enjoy some wholesome family entertainment that will make you think and, if you're not careful, might even teach you a thing or two. Suitable for the high school set and above or for advanced younger readers.

What would you do? You buy a used tablet.It has an app with no name. Its icon is a plain black square.You have no idea what it does. Do you dare run it? If you're a boy of 12, of course you do. Norm does. Then his life goes crazy.He visits times and places he never imagined, with excitement and danger everywhere.He meets angry Bedouins, revenge-minded ship captains, knife-throwing Gypsies, and gun-totin' cowboys.Plus a beautiful Gypsy girl -- Adara, a charming pickpocket from long-ago England. Norm is lucky to have Burny, his dog, companion, and guardian.Also his conscience and voice of reason. But the mysterious app has a dark side... A children's book for adults -- the first of five! With 23 illustrations by Mindy Alper Full information at http://NormAndBurny.com

Spirit Chamber Book Two of the Benchland series Five thousand years ago--late in the Age of Copper--two desperate couples found winter refuge in a cave. Exploring miles of subterranean passages, they discovered an exit onto the Benchland, a three-mile-long shelf of fertile ground, an isolated and beautiful place of wildflower, forest, and stream, set high on the steep wall of a river canyon and completely inaccessible to roving raiders, the scourge of that time in Europe. With ample game, year-round water, and firewood, the Benchland became home to the four founders and generations of their descendants. The Benchland series is based on paintings the original settlers left on the walls of the cave--a pictorial diary of the colony, now an archaeological and historic treasure. Spirit Chamber recounts events in the lives of the colony's second and third generations and tells of the discovery of the cave and its paintings by modern scientists who find, deep within the cave, a mysterious and spectacular place of power that binds them to the original settlers--the spiritual heart of the Benchland colony . . . the Spirit Chamber. The sequel to Rockslide

A long peace is shattered When Norm and his friend Dara were twelve, Burny helped them rescue Dara's father from Morgana the Fey, the ancient sorceress who made King Arthur's life miserable. Any victory over Morgana comes with danger and risk, because Morgana always gets even. But for almost three years, nothing has come of it. Now a crushing blow: Morgana kidnaps Dara. Revenge of the Cat is a blizzard of magical craziness, from Norm and Burny's dramatic rescue attempts to the final frightening threat from Morgana that ends this book and foreshadows the final two. At the center of it all is a big dog taking care of his boy. Burny saves Norm repeatedly, the last time at a terrible cost. He is courageous, selfless, wise, devoted, and full of attitude. He disapproves of magic, but he comes through in the clutch. A book for teens and adults This book is the centerpiece of the five-volume Norm and Burny series. Meeting Norm and Dara as teenagers, the reader sees the outlines of the overall story. Revenge of the Cat can be read on its own; knowing the two earlier books is not required. Warning: Unlike the first two books, which are are for younger children, Revenge of the Cat is written for teens and adults. Children younger than eleven might not understand it, and it could frighten them. Revenge of the Cat Norm and Burny Book Three For readers eleven and up

A photographic essay on a vacation trip with two ten-year-old cousins. 94 pages. 91 full-color photographs. Lake Tahoe; Burney Falls; Lava Beds Nat'l Monument; Crater Lake Nat'l Park; Rogue River Gorge; Orgeon Caves; Redwoods State and National Parks.