Naturalist and educator Paul Hetzler says he had intended to be a bear when he grew up, but when that didn't pan out, he settled for an educator position instead. His new book is titled, Shady Characters: Plant Vampires, Caterpillar Soup, Leprechaun Trees and Other Hilarities of the Natural World.

Hetzler's work has appeared in magazines, and the medical journal The Lancet. He also writes weekly natural-history columns for newspapers and magazines in northern New York State, as well as NCPR's All In blog.