Take the tunnel entrance down to an underground armadillo home and the reader crosses the threshold to take a delightful magical journey into the educational life of four very young naughty armadillos. The little armadillo's names are Beetle Bop, Hip Hop, Flip Flop, and Poops Alot. Momma Mee Mop and Daddy Doo Whop add to the humor throughout this light-hearted children's tale. The illustrations complete the enchantment. IN THE OUTSIDE centers on very interesting armadillo facts: The strange creature-feature of this critter is an armored shoulder and hip shield connected by nine movable bands of bony plates. An extra bonus in this story is the Brazilian three-banded armadillo's incredible ability to roll itself into a ball. Since every litter of young uns is always four in number and always of the same sex -- the story IN THE OUTSIDE features four males. (Worldwide scientific studies are underway to investigate the why and how of that birth order.) The story also portrays the armadillo's quickness (or not) that has earned it the moniker "the flying tank of the animal kingdom." In addition, its powerful claws on four stubby legs enable them to burrow deep and quickly. The nine-banded armadillo, designated as the Texas State Mammal, is nevertheless subject to a love/hate relationship with adult gardeners and landscape engineers. The armadillo has the innate instinct to burrow underground and he does so with complete abandon. On the other hand, and contrary to that love/hate attitude, in March of 2012, the Brazilian weekly, Veja, reported that the three-banded armadillo would be the official mascot for the 2014 World Cup hosted by Brazil. Official announcement came in September 2012. The book IN THE OUTSIDE also briefly touches on an historic era when the armadillo was a marked critter in the author's home town of Comfort, Texas. Dating back to 1933, Charles Apelt, a German immigrant, owned and operated (just outside of Comfort) an actual Armadillo Farm.