Reptiles

Children's Literature - Shalini Murthy

Children are by their very nature naturalists, as they use their senses and curiosity to learn about nature. This book by the illustrious National Audubon Society encourages this natural curiosity of children to explore the world of reptiles. As with all books in the series, this book too is superb in its content and presentation. The book is divided into four parts and begins by introducing children to the world of reptiles, discussing the subspecies and races. The next section focuses on the anatomy, habitat and behavior of reptiles. The section entitled Field Guide, is an identification guide to 50 of the most widely found reptiles in North America, as well as over 100 additional species. A Reference section contains a glossary, resources and an index. The book is easy to read with lots of beautiful photographs and illustrations making this both a useful reference book and a field guide in one volume. A bonus is the removable, water-resistant spotter's card for use in the field.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-8-Behler begins with an overview of characteristics applicable to all reptiles. Next, individual North American species are organized into four groups: crocodilians, turtles, lizards, and snakes. Clear, full-color photographs and short capsules of information make it easy to identify each animal and its relatives. The introduction in Trees addresses the characteristics of different North American types, which are then categorized by the shape of their leaves. However, not all trees with the same type of leaves are grouped together, making this title more difficult to use than Reptiles. In addition, some of the photographs are so small that it is impossible to use them for identification purposes. Both books include warnings if an animal or plant is considered harmful. Purchase Reptiles as a general introduction to the subject and Trees as a supplement to George A. Petrides's Peterson First Guide to Trees (Houghton, 1993) or Herbert Spencer Zim's Trees (Golden, 1989).-Michele Snyder, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.