Poisonous Creatures (Scientific American Sourcebooks) [Library Binding]

Nathan Aaseng (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Scientific American Sourcebooks

Describes various species from every animal family that use some kind of venom to protect themselves or as a means of acquiring food.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-An introduction discusses the nature of animal poisons, their purpose and composition, followed by separate chapters that examine various groups of vertebrates and invertebrates with venom-bearing members. The text briefly describes some of each group's general characteristics but concentrates on the special physical and behavioral characteristics of individual species. Sea wasps, blue-ringed octopi, brown recluse spiders, African killer bees, bushmasters, taipans, and marine toads are among the species included. For most of the animals, the text cites geographical range, average size, method of attack, and type and potency of poison employed. The last chapter surveys the medical uses of venom in treating disease. Clear, full-color photos appear on about every other page. The writing is lucid and the material is well organized. Indeed, intriguing information is offered here that is not available elsewhere. For instance, Aaseng mentions the recent discovery of the world's only poisonous bird, the pitohui, found in Papua, New Guinea, in 1991. An excellent overview and a welcome resource.
Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-7. Combine a fascinating topic and well-written information, and you've got a book that will be enjoyed and used both by report writers and browsers. As the title indicates, this entry in the Scientific American Sourcebooks series looks at lots of poisonous creatures, including mollusks, spiders, snakes, and insects. Each general category is divided into subcategories; for instance, "spiders" talks about brown spiders, black widows, tarantulas, and the deadly funnel-web spiders. The crisply written text is matched by a clean format enhanced by lots of intriguing color photos. (You may want to skip the one of the snake swallowing the wood rat.) The book's last chapter--the beneficial uses of venom--introduces a subject kids may never have thought about before. A brief guide to classification rounds out the treatment. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 96 pages
• Publisher: 21st Century; 1st edition (December 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805046909
• ISBN-13: 978-0805046908
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,398,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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