Python (Read and Wonder) - Hardcover

Cheng, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763663964 ISBN 13: 9780763663964

Publisher: Candlewick, 2013

Synopsis

Follow the deadly python as she slithers in search of a meal in this riveting nature story that is not for the faint of heart.

Python stirs and slithers out from her shelter, smelling the air with her forked tongue. It’s time to molt her dull scales and reveal the glistening snake underneath. Gliding along a tree, she stops and watches very, very closely as a bird drops onto a branch — and escapes the razor-sharp teeth just in time. But Python is hungry, so she slides on to stalk new prey. Combining informative facts, expressive illustrations, and a lyrical, mesmerizing narrative, here is a book to captivate anyone fascinated by this iconic creature.
Back matter includes information about pythons and an index.

About this title

About the Author

Christopher Cheng established the Zoomobile and taught at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, and now is a full-time author of children’s books. He lives in Australia.

Mark Jackson has illustrated numerous picture books, including The Truth About Penguins by Meg McKinlay. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

K-Gr 2-Written as a narrative about one female snake-Python-this brief introduction to the species offers basic information such as how and what she eats; how she keeps warm; scales and molting; and incubation and hatching of eggs. Two to six sentences of text and a related fact or two appear on each double-page illustration. For example, on the spread about molting, the accompanying facts state: "Python's sleek scales are made of keratin-just like human fingernails. Snakes don't have eyelids, so they can't blink. Their eyes are covered by a single scale." Jackson's carefully composed, mixed-media illustrations, heavily detailed in rust-colored pencil, have an open, sketchy look that attractively and effectively shows the large snake in its habitat-the Australian bush. The artist shows it twining around tree branches; warming itself on a sunny rock; and hunting small prey from a coiled position in the wild grass. A paragraph of information about pythons and an index of key words in the text are appended. This attractive and readable book is an excellent introduction to informational literature and to a fascinating creature.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Heights Public Library, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

One morning in the Australian bush, Python warms herself in the sunlight before shedding her old skin. She glides up a tree and almost catches a bird with her sharp teeth, but it gets away. After night falls, she coils around a rat, constricts its breathing, and then swallows it whole. Some time later, she lays eggs and guards them until the snakelets hatch, leave their shells, and slither away to start their own lives. The main text offers an episodic, lightly fictionalized account of the python’s days, while related facts about the snakes appear in smaller type on most double-page spreads. An afterword fills in a bit of added information about pythons. Impressionistic rather than highly detailed, Jackson’s mixed-media illustrations are most effective when seen from a little distance. An attractive, matter-of-fact picture book on a topic that will interest many young children. Grades K-3, --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0763663964
• ISBN 13: 9780763663964
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Jackson Mark
• Number of pages: 32