My Best Book of Snakes (The Best Book of) - Hardcover

Grade 3-5-Some of the world's most dangerous serpents are featured in this profusely illustrated overview. Vivid, realistic paintings appear on every page. Some are fairly small, set against a plain white background and juxtaposed with the paragraphs of text (one section offers a pictorial survey of 16 species). Others are full page or on spreads showing the reptiles in their natural habitats, usually attacking prey. While most of the loosely organized text is clearly written, it suffers, to some extent, from oversimplification (e.g., the suggestion that all venom is deadly). More problematic is the dichotomy between the book's professed objective view and its sensationalism. While it states that most snakes are harmless and makes a plea for conservation, the volume includes mostly venomous species, emphasizes the danger snakes pose to humans, and contains numerous dramatic illustrations of the reptiles in attack mode. Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's colorful Slinky, Scaly, Slithery Snakes (Walker, 2000), aimed at about the same age level, is a better choice. It covers most of the same topics, is more tightly organized, and has a consistently lucid text and a more scientifically objective point of view.
Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library
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