What’s that? Australian reptiles by Myke Mollard

Woodlane Press produces field guides and books for travellers, books about facets of our environment, books for cyclists and family adventures, all produced with stunning photos and illustrations. All of their books empower families, groups and individuals to explore, understand and value the land on which they travel.

This one explains what a reptile is, then divides the species into three distinct groups: lizards and snakes, turtles, and crocodiles, each having its own signature background colour.

For those people who love to cycle, hike or walk our bush, then reading this is sure to alert adventurers to the type of reptiles they may come across. Skinks and geckos and blue tongued lizards would be delightful, but readers will know or be wary of the snakes they may see.

And it is handy to know what it is you are looking at.

Each page has a map showing where theses animals live and has a number of fact boxes giving snippets of information guaranteed to intrigue younger readers.

Several use a double page, as there are a number of different kinds within the group; skinks, and blue tongue lizards for example, while others like the Eastern Brown snake has two pages devoted to it. Snakes and lizards take up the majority of the book, turtles has just six pages, and crocodiles, two.

All the information is most appealing to younger readers; the illustrations enough to intrigue and delight.

As with the other three in this series, the books are smaller in size, easy to hold, and easy to pick up and read. Despite the lack of an index, younger readers will love perusing the books to find a favourite and something known.

Themes: Australian reptiles, Snakes, Lizards, Crocodiles, Turtles.

Fran Knight