Snakes

November 1, 2011

Gr 2-3-While this group offers a lot of information and loads of up-close, full-color photos, the volumes are uneven in the breadth of their coverage, with some books trying to deliver information on more creatures in the same number of pages in which other titles cover fewer. Insects and spiders, for example, are much broader subjects than snakes or reptiles. With that in mind, facts abound in each. The writing is clear and inviting, and the pictures range from scary to adorable and humorous; e.g., a chameleon that seems to be smiling in Reptiles. There are sections on dangers these fish, insects, arachnids, and reptiles face as well as on conservation methods. Except for saltwater and freshwater fish, there are myriad books on these topics for this age range. Since the subjects tend to be popular, each title is worthy of consideration.

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2011
Grades 2-4 This volume in the Eye to Eye with Animals series presents a clear, concise, andfor most peopleshudder-worthy introduction to these slithering, scaly, and legless beasts. The information is presented in short, accessible chunks: Snakes have adapted over millions of years into the limbless, tubular carnivores we know them as today. Their locomotion, diet, homes, habits, and position in the predator/prey chain are handled with the kind of information that will handily provide backbone (get it?) to any student report, though other volumes may be needed to fill in any given area. The photographs here are especially fine: huge, often two-page shots of rattlers, boas, and cobras giving their best menacing glares. One shot of a dead snake on a highway (illustrating that humans are snakes' primary threat) is disturbing but not overly bloody. A cutaway illustration of a snake's inner organs is very revealing, as is a shot of a snake with clawsa holdover from before the reptile evolved from an animal with legs. Basic stuff, but solid, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)