Don't Touch That!: The Book of Gross, Poisonous, and Downright Icky Plants and Critters - Softcover

Day MD, Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155652711X ISBN 13: 9781556527111

Publisher: Chicago Review Press, 2008

Synopsis

You’ve probably heard the warning about poison ivy: “Leaves of three, leave it be.” If only it were that simple! Do you know that a plant that has been dead for years can still cause a rash, or that if you burn poison ivy you can get a skin reaction just by walking through the smoke?

 

And that’s just one species to avoid--if you’re not careful, you can also run into poison oak, poison sumac, trumpet creeper, giant hogweed, stinging nettle, and all sorts of cacti. There are also things that can run into you--critters and creepy crawlies such as velvet ants, killer bees, pit vipers, wasps, scorpions, mosquitoes, tarantulas, bats, black widow spiders, gila monsters, and more. What’s a kid to do?

 

Doctor Jeff Day offers helpful advice on how to avoid getting stung, bit, poked, jabbed, or poisoned . . . and what to do if you are. You’ll learn about everything from rashes to anaphylaxis, tetanus to spider bites, bee stings to rabies. And though the information he provides is serious, Day’s cartoons will have you laughing and scratching along.

About this title

About the Author

Jeff Day, MD, is a pediatrician, cartoonist, and museum docent.

Reviews

Grade 3–6—Packed with potentially life-saving information, this guide is humorous without sacrificing usefulness. The author, a medical doctor, begins with some basic plants (poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac) that might be encountered. Drawings of the leaves are carefully labeled and accompanied by the warning not to touch any part of the plant, and not to burn it as even the smoke can irritate. Poisonous insects, spiders, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals are also included, and every entry explains why the creature's venom causes the bad reaction it does and how to treat it. The text does a good job of explaining how to distinguish a poisonous insect from a benign one. It also encourages recognition of the value of potentially harmful wildlife by touching upon its importance to ecosystems. Genuinely funny, colorful drawings on every page amplify the text and make it memorable. The dangers of eating wild mushrooms, for example, are succinctly summed up: "NEVER EAT WILD MUSHROOMS!" and are accompanied by a cartoon of a rabbit chowing down on them because, as the text explains, rabbits can eat deadly mushrooms without harm. Valuable information made fun.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 155652711X
• ISBN 13: 9781556527111
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112