The Black Mamba

July 1, 2013

Gr 3-6-Each book opens with a vivid account of a person being bitten or stung by one or more of the featured animals, the venom's physical effects, and efforts made to save the victim's life. The people featured in the first three titles (respectively, a young African cattle herder, a Colorado teenager, and a female soldier stationed in Iraq) nearly died before the correct antivenom could be found and administered, while the Arizona teenager in Killer Bees-stung 150 times in a single incident-was less critically injured. In the following chapters, the white-print text, set on the backgrounds of color photo spreads, briefly describes the creature's habitats; key physical and behavioral characteristics; defense mechanisms; use of venom and its potency; safety tips, etc. (One tip in each of the arachnid titles concerns removing the animal, if found indoors-a risky maneuver itself.) The animals are clearly depicted on about every other page; some of the close-up images place readers eye-to-eye with them. Captions and sidebars offer additional details. Sandra Markle's Black Widows (Lerner, 2011) and Outside and Inside Killer Bees (Walker, 2004) offer detailed information on the invertebrates' anatomy, characteristics, and life cycles, while Owings's titles on the same animals focus primarily on their deadly nature. The books on the black mamba and deathstalker scorpion will help fill an information gap as there is a dearth of material on these highly venomous creatures.-Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library

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