Snakes and Other Reptiles

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #23

by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce, Salvatore Murdocca (Illustrator)

The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Getting the facts behind the fiction has never looked better. Track the facts with Jack and Annie!!
 
When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in  Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #17: A Crazy Day with Cobras,  they had lots of questions. Can snakes really be charmed? What reptile has the deadliest venom? What do Komodo dragons eat? How do you tell alligators and crocodiles apart? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts.

Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures. And teachers can use Fact Trackers alongside their Magic Tree House fiction companions to meet common core text pairing needs.

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
Merlin More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
Super A longer and more dangerous adventure
Fact Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!

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

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2011

About the author

Mary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will Osborne.

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, one of the Magic Tree House Research Guides is the companion book for A Crazy Day With Cobras.

The focus of this book is, of course, on snakes and other cold-blooded reptiles, and it is very informative and interesting. Our girls used to enjoy these books about as much as they loked the fictional tales featuring Jack and Annie.

The black-and-white illustrations by Sal Murdocca and the photos really complement the narrative.

I don't remember reading this book with our girls, but we did read books about snakes and their favorite was always the Eastern Hognose Smake (featured on pp. 56-57) because it plays dead. We would always mimic it, saying, 'Hey! Can't you see I'm dead over here?!?' in a terrible New Jersey accent. It would crack us up and then we'd do it all over again. Fun times, fun times.

interesting quotes:

"Snakes are not the only animals with Jacobson's organs. Elephants, lions, and other reptiles have them, too." (p. 31)

"In its lifetime, a crocodilian goes through as many as three thousand teeth." (p. 85)

"Leatherback sea turtles have softer, lighter, and more flexible shells. They sometimes dive 3,000 feet underwater. If their shells were hard, the water pressure would crush them. " (p. 95)

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This goes with A Crazy Day With Cobras. It is filled with drawings and phots of the reptiles, and has plenty of interesting facts as well. As with the others, there is a good list of other books, zoos, dvds and websites for more information.

[Aaron.W · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. Has a lot of information and is rather fun to read.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I learned was that crocodiles can be up to 20 feet long. That’s too big. This is a great overview of reptiles. I loved it.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fact Tracker to accompany A Crazy Day With Cobras - scientific facts about snakes and other reptiles!

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting. I didn’t know that birds were considered reptiles.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vey interesting little book.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reptiles have been around for a long time. You can't escape them even if you tried because they are on every continent. If you hate them you will learn to love and appreciate them once you've read Osborne and Boyce's book. If you love them you will be delighted to learn even more about them. Osborne and Boyce discuss all of the species in the reptile family. In regards to myths, readers will learn that snakes in Egypt were considered gods and in Greece they were a sign of healing and wisdom. If you were wondering how many different kinds of snakes there are around the world Osborne and Boyce teach readers about snake families such as Colubridae who are harmless, Boidaie and Pythonidae which have strong muscles to better squeeze their prey with before they devour them. There are plenty of pictures here to show off all of the animals readers will learn about. Lizards, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises are covered to name a few. Readers will find fun facts on sidebars of pages and helpful resources to find out even more information. Osborne and Boyce even cover why it is so important to save snakes and reptiles. Many are considered to be an endangered species because their natural habitats are being destroyed. Readers will also get educated about the medicinal purposes of snake venom and how it can help to lower blood pressure and slow down the growth of cancer. Parents and teachers will love this guide. Readers will love the index in the back of the book for quick reference to a particular topic or reptile.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2011, Mary Pope Osborne and her sister Natalie Pope Boyce published the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers entitled Snakes and Other Reptiles. This book is a nonfiction research guide to the book entitled A Crazy Day With Cobras by Mary Pope Osborne, which was published in 2011. Osborne’s and Boyce’s book is a well-done introduction to the world of reptiles with a focus on snakes. The book is for young readers. When I reread the book, I learned information about snakes and reptiles that I had forgotten about. The book has wonderful black-and-white illustrations. The book has wonderful black-and-white photographs. The illustrator for this book was Sal Murdocca. Along with the introduction to snakes, the book has one chapter on lizards and crocodilians. The book has one combined chapter on turtles and tortoises, respectively. The book has two chapters on snakes along with one chapter to introduce the definition of reptiles. Similar to the other books in the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series, the book has a section on how to do more research for young readers about snakes and reptiles. The book has an index and includes photo credits. The book had a scientific consultant and an educational consultant. Osborne’s and Boyce’s Snakes and Other Reptiles is a well-done introduction to the world of reptiles with a focus on snakes.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

BL 5.2 / 1pt

[Dy]

When doing simple NaNo research where I just need an overview of the subject, I prefer kids' nonfiction since it gets to the point w/o being too complex.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

when you pick up a toad they pee in your hand. they are the only type of frogs that do that.

[Kevin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love facts and the magic tree house seieries. The magic tree house research guides combine two of the rings that I like.

[Tisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple facts about snakes and other reptiles. It also included information on the myths and legends many cultures have about snakes. The illustrations are cute.

[Marya · Rating 3 out of 5]

BIRDS ARE REPTILES?! Ok, I thought I could handle the whole Pluto debacle, but this is going too far! Shame on you, science!

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken]

Eleanor says: reptiles are cool and kind of creepy.