S-S-Snakes! (Step into Reading Book Series: A Step 3 Book)

by Lucille Recht Penner, Peter Barrett (Illustrator)

Overview

Illus. in full color. A scintillating survey of sensational serpents, from blood-spewing West Indian boas to "flying" golden tree snakes.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679847779
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/28/1994
Series:	Step into Reading Book Series: A Step 3 Book
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	34,018
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.16(d)
Lexile:	510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

First come the attention "grabbers." Presented in simple terms, the reader learns about cobras and snake charmers, Egyptian headdresses, Medusa, and how snakes were used to fight the Roman army. Next is a description of snakes regarding the things they can do, where they live, and how they fight. Several pages explain how they give birth, what they eat, and how they catch their prey. Different types of snakes are described, such as the garter snake, the python, and the Egyptian cobra. Further descriptions include poisonous snakes such as the tiger snake and the rattlesnake. Drama is added when a lion meets a cobra, and the cobra spits poison into the lion's eyes. The next page tells how a mongoose can rush in and bite a snake before it can strike. The last part of the text discusses how humans are the biggest danger to snakes, and the reasons that the world needs snakes. Each page has appropriate and excellent illustrations. The information is presented in an interesting manner, and sentences are to the point. This nonfiction text in the "Step into Reading" series ("Step 3") is written for children in grades one through three who are reading on their own. Reviewer: Vicki Foote

Children's Literature - Vicki Foote

Gr 1-3This slim introduction offers barely enough information to whet one's appetite. Penner opens with a brief explanation of how an Indian snake charmer ``charms'' a cobra, and alludes to snakes in mythology and ancient history. The minimal text then describes some of the major physical and behavioral characteristics common to all snakesdiet, various hunting and feeding methods, birth of youngand special characteristics of assorted species. Full-color drawings of 30 representative species from around the world accompany each page of text. While they are adequate depictions, those of humans are mediocre; most of the children look like short adults. Although the book is clearly written, it suffers from poor organization; topics are addressed in random order. Also, the coverage is superficial. Descriptions of anatomy, methods of locomotion, and growth and development are particularly sketchy. Patricia Lauber's Snakes Are Hunters (Crowell, 1988) and Seymour Simon's Snakes (HarperCollins, 1992) provide more in-depth information on the same subject; the latter title also offers superb photography that gives a truer sense of the nature of snakes.Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library

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