Smithsonian Answer Book: Snakes, Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: Fas-s-s-cinating!
Review: This eminently readable and entertaining book on snakes is the best one available for curious adults and precocious older children. The question and answer format and the copious illustrations make this a book for dipping into at short intervals, but beware-- you may not be able to put it down! The authors are experts with a gift of explaining their topic with ample and well-chosen details that enliven the text. And as readable as it is, the authors do include, for those who are interested, references to some of the specialized language: did you know, for example, that the word for warning coloration is "aposematism"? I do not consider my self a snake-fancier but I was delighted by all the wonderful and surprising things I learned. Perhaps the greatest surprise: how many invertebrates prey on snakes.

For the precocious child and preteen this book really conveys the important point that science is a process of continual inquiry, not inert facts and unchallengeable answers. The authors raise some questions of their own to underline their point, and I know that I still had many unanswered at the end. (If snakes have a larynx and some even have vocal cords, why haven't these long disappeared since they are apparently never used?)

The authors also appeal to younger readers with sound suggestions on careers in herpetology and advice on keeping a snake as a pet which, in short, is: DON'T, but if you must, here are some acceptable ways to go about it.