Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles

by Jim Arnosky

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.   A 2009 Parents' Choice Award Winner .  

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Childrens, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2009

About the author

Jim Arnosky was born in New York City, NY Sept 1, 1946. He was raised in Pennsylvania. Jim graduated from high school in Philadelphia and joined the US Naval Reserves. His active duty took him to Maryland and Bremerhaven, Germany.

In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.

Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.

Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful paintings and interesting info.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talented and prolific children's author and artist Jim Arnosky, whose work encompasses all sorts of books about natural history for young people, turns to the subject of reptiles in this engaging picture book. Highlighting different kinds of reptiles—snakes, lizards, alligators and crocodiles, tortoises and turtles—he explores some of the similarities between these magnificent creatures (they're all cold blooded, for instance), as well as some of the differences (some don't have legs!). There are four fold-outs, a number of reptiles shown in actual size, and an author's note and list of further reading at the rear...

Published in 2009, Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles is the fifty-ninth book I have read from Arnosky, and the fourth in this format, following upon Shimmer & Splash: The Sparkling World of Sea Life , Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature's Footprints , and Thunder Birds: Nature's Flying Predators . As with these other titles, I appreciated the fold-out pages and life-sized depictions here, as I think that they will make reading this book more involving and entertaining, as well as educational, for the child reader. The artwork itself, done in pencil and acrylic, is just lovely! Recommended to young animal lovers, particularly those interested in reptiles.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. Similar is layout to Arnosky's Shimmer and Splash, this is a great resource for children fascinated by reptiles. Lots of facts and pictures and narrative context to keep the pages turning.

[Anchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful life sized illustrations and great information about various reptiles mostly in North America. When my kids are glued to the book, it told me everything good about this wonderful picture book.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner from Arnosky, this book offers life-size drawings of reptiles. The pages even fold-out for those really large animals. In between the detailed pictures that will have everyone oo-ing and ah-ing, Arnosky offers some great scientific facts tempered nicely with personal anecdotes. These more scientific passages are also illustrated with a facing page in color and pencil drawings surrounding the text. Then you unfold the page to see the life-size reptiles nice and close. Beware the sea turtles. I nearly dropped the book much to my son’s delight.

Any fan of animals or reptiles will adore this book. It is appropriate for a wide-range of ages with younger children enjoying the pictures and older children finding engrossing details too. Arnosky completes the book by admitting he is afraid of snakes and a little afraid of all reptiles, but that doesn’t stop him from admiring them. A wonderful cap on a book that will entice reptile lovers and others to take a look.

A great book for any library, this one will slither quickly off the shelves. The fold-out pages are sturdy and if worried you could reinforce the folds with some tape. Recommended for ages 4-8.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a new librarian, I certainly have some reading blindspots. This is my first Jim Aronsky book and I was very excited to see the life-size reptiles. But I was a little disappointed. The illustrations were not particularly vivid or vibrant. And the life-size pictures included comparisons of turtle or snake heads. A snake head is not enough to satisfy my life-size curiosity! This book is also packed with information and facts but I think the presentation isn't engaging enough to draw students in.

As with other interactive books, this one is going to suffer at the hands of young readers. The copy that I checked out from my public library, and I believe that I was the first to read it, included pages that were misfolded and incorrectly creased.

While I have some quibbles with this title, I still think that it will be attractive to young readers, especially boys in grades 1 - 3, and will probably purchase a copy for my elementary school library collection.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Arnosky's art in incredible in its beauty and in its accurate detail.
The only problem with this book is the fold outs. "Life size" is wonderful, but all the little darlings whose "never say no" parents allow them to handle this on their own are going to maul this book in short order. I am already planning to buy a second copy.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and detailed look at reptiles. The drawings are great and the information provided is interesting, but not overwhelming. The drawings appear to be scaled to the actual size of the reptile and in some cases, the reptiles are depicted as actual size. It took us a few days to read through the entire book, but our girls really liked it and loved the pictures.

[Steve_sonderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very informational. The book is a parents choice recommended book. The illustrations are very detailed and also provide a lot of information. The fold out pages are the highlight of the book. Lessons for students can be designed upon the similar way that Jim Arnosky illustrates his pages. Overall, it is a good nonfiction book, but not an incredibly easy read.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another very good book from Arnosky. I love his detailed look into the lives of these reptiles. His paintings and informative drawings are a nice addition to this book, as well as the colorful fold-outs.

[Sam Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of every imaginable type of reptile. The illustrations are great (especially the life-size ones) and the information is interesting.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes:
nature study from an artist's point of view
amazing illustrations
fold-out pages for large images
writing is geared toward 9+

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so enjoyed the artist's Creep and Flutter that I looked up what else I missed by this consummate nature painter.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great life-size illustrations!