Come Slither: Snake Books for Kids on Big Universe

Mention the “S” word and you’ll usually get polar reactions. Some people express revulsion, while others indicate fascination for all things viper. But, it’s safe to bet that everyone has a snake story to tell.

My oldest daughter stepped on a copperhead in her bare feet while playing in our yard. My geologist father stared a few rattlesnakes down in his day while doing field study, and I found a sizeable black snake nesting under the pine shavings in a horse stall a few years back. There was a snake in our church gym’s rafters at a girls’ youth group sleepover, and my mom found “Mr. Thin Lips” lounging on the grill on her porch. Similar anecdotes by students could be the launching pad for writing stories on Big Universe – ones full of sequence words, action verbs and descriptive adjectives!

We all escaped unscathed, except for a few heart palpitations. Our inquisitive chocolate Labrador Retriever was the only family member to ever be bitten. She had a run-in with a copperhead. Her nose swelled, but the vet said she would recover quickly. And, she did.

I’m not particularly fond of being startled by snakes. I’d much rather observe them from behind a nice thick pane of glass or read about them. Big Universe Learning has numerous children’s books about snakes and reptiles that make this possible. These online books are pretty interesting and are the perfect supplement to science units about reptiles or the environment. (See list below.)

Why did I pick this topic for my blog? Well, it’s not because I really enjoy scaly things, but I do love zoology, scientific discovery and current events. An Associated Press (AP) article today heralded a new green-horned snake named after a little British girl called “Matilda.” The rare lemon-colored snake was found in Tanzania and was introduced to the world in the December issue of the scientific journal Zootaxa.

“Only three new vipers have been discovered across Africa the last three decades, making the find rare and important,” according to the AP article.

“My daughter, who was 5 at the time, became fascinated by it and used to love spending time watching it and helping us look after it,” said Tim Davenport, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania, who – along with two teammates – discovered the highly endangered snake two years ago. The find was kept under wraps until a conservation plan could be initiated.

Big Universe’s Snake Books for Children

• Coral Snakes
• Mambas
• Anacondas
• Sea Snakes
• Copperheads
• Rat Snakes
• Rattlesnakes
• Sidewinders
• Cottonmouths
• Boa Constrictors
• Pythons
• Serpientes (Snakes)

One Comment

• Michael says:

  January 12, 2012 at 1:29 pm

  What happened to your daughter after stepping on a copperhead snake? Well, these snakes are reportedly “not aggressive” and they only attack “wildly” if disturbed during mating season. So we should all be careful. Source: copperheadsnake.net