The cover image of a parrot snake about to strike is just one of the stunning photographs in this breathtaking volume from veteran Nic Bishop. These pictures together with brief blocks of meaty facts set this book about reptiles a cut above the rest.
From the cozy curled-up green tree python, looking quite benign at rest (and found primarily in Australia), to the venomous feathered bush viper of Africa with huge light green scales, these reptiles' looks are as diverse as their wide-ranging habitats. A gorgeous photo of a yellow anaconda, slinking through the water, makes a sharp contrast to the Asian sand viper hiding on the desert floor, yet both lie in wait to ambush their prey. One striking photo of an African egg-eating snake depicts the creature after the egg has just cleared its mouth. (A closing author's note says this was Nic Bishop's most challenging photograph to take; he had to try four different snakes.) Many snakes eat only a few times a year.
Bishop uses a sunset image of a king snake from North America, with its hundreds of touch sensors under the skin, and an emerald tree boa about to prey upon an opossum, which it located through heat-seeking pits in its mouth, to demonstrate different ways snakes compensate for poor vision. Children will pick up this book for the striking photographs and stay for the fascinating facts. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness