Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles by Jim Arnosky

From the Publisher

Snake fangs, alligator claws, and turtle shells—all life-size! Go belly down on the ground, eye to reptilian eye, with acclaimed naturalist Jim Arnosky. Through large gatefolds and marvelously detailed, realistic art, he takes kids (safely!) up close and personal with these slithery, crawly creatures. Arnosky explains how to identify venomous snakes and their harmless cousins, where to find a 200-pound lizard, how to avoid becoming an alligator’s lunch, and much more. It’s the perfect gift for a budding naturalist, animal lover, or artist.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5

Arnosky's painterly eye and personal observations match handsomely in this face-to-face experience. The slim volume presents-head-on-life-size depictions of a plethora of scaly or otherwise armored critters, along with a nice selection of data included in the conversational text. Neat foldouts of a passel of snakes, an American crocodile (with an infant perched on its nose), a skitter of lizards, and the heads of a variety of sea turtles add an interactive touch to the artist's outstanding acrylics. Even libraries that have titles in Arnosky's "All About" series (Scholastic) will want to add this handsome, informative book to their slithery collections.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Kirkus Reviews

Snakes, lizards, turtles and crocodilians stare out from the pages of this eye-catching introduction to reptiles. Illustrated with sketches and acrylic paintings-four on foldout pages that allow life-size representation of animal heads-this is the fruit of years of exploration and photography by the veteran naturalist. Each family is introduced with a page of text describing physical characteristics and some distinctive habits. The author distinguishes between land and sea turtles, crocodiles and alligators, and includes a page on the habits of all these cold-blooded animals in winter. Personal experiences enliven the text throughout, and Arnosky ends with a description of looking-in vain-for Burmese pythons in Key Largo, Fla. An inaccurate table of metric equivalents is an unnecessary addition to the backmatter of an otherwise admirable presentation. A richness of reptiles, indeed. (author's note, more reading) (Nonfiction. 6-10)

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