From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Fifteen full-page watercolor paintings depict a variety of North American reptiles, identified by their common names. Each plate is accompanied by a single line of text that describes a general characteristic shared by all reptiles or a special trait of the pictured animal. For instance, the illustration of a rough green snake states, "Reptiles have dry, scaly skin"; while the text opposite the painting of an Eastern box turtle reads, "Some reptiles have a hard, bony plate." Other topics include methods of locomotion, diet, birth of young, etc. An appendix offers additional facts about the featured reptiles in short blocks of text, each of which is accompanied by a small black-and-white reproduction of the original painting. Like the author/illustrator team's About Birds (1991) and About Mammals (1997, both Peachtree), this book's main strength is its attractive, realistic portraits of the animals in their natural surroundings. The minimal text is adequate and generally clearly written, except for the nebulous last sentence that reads, "Reptiles are important to us," and nothing more. Another minor flaw-the few scientific terms employed are not defined. Still, with its excellent illustrations, About Reptiles will be a useful concept book for preschoolers and beginning readers.
Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Like the Sills'
About Birds (1991) and
About Mammals (1997), this picture book presents information about animals through brief, precise sentences illustrated with strikingly realistic paintings. Each spread features a colorful, full-page painting facing a white page that has a line or phrase of text conveying a fact about reptiles and, in small type, the identity of the pictured animal. For instance, the sentence "Some reptiles use venom to capture their prey" faces a picture of an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. The last pages reproduce each color plate in a smaller, black-and-white print accompanied by a few sentences of information about the species. Well designed for classroom use, or as a browsing book for children fascinated by reptiles.
Carolyn Phelan
