Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* As in Bishop's earlier volumes on spiders, frogs, marsupials, and butterflies and moths, his remarkable color photos will initially draw readers to the book. But the succinct text is equally riveting as it explores the surprisingly varied world of lizards, from the tiny dwarf gecko, small enough to curl up on your thumbnail, to the Komodo dragon, the world's largest venomous animal. A typical double-page spread includes a couple of paragraphs of information, an exceptionally clear photo, and an informative caption, which includes the degree of image magnification for animals shown larger than actual size. Standout illustrations include a three-image photo of a basilisk sprinting on two legs across the surface of water and a shot of a chameleon, its sticky tongue extended longer than its body, zapping up a cricket. Bishop, who has a doctorate in biological sciences, writes clearly, presenting his subject without anthropomorphism but with empathy. The book's back matter includes a short recommended-reading list, a brief glossary, and a two-page author's note on his experiences photographing lizards for the book, from the rare thorny devil found in a remote Australian desert to the basilisk, for which he built a rain forest pond in his home. Captivating.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-There's not much to say that hasn't already been said about the high caliber of Bishop's work, and this book is no exception. The photographs capture a variety of lizards in startling detail. Information is presented in much the same format as Butterflies and Moths (2009), Spiders (2007), and Frogs (2008, all Scholastic). A key sentence written in a larger font and different color is set off from the rest of the text on the page. Basic facts about the various lizards are simple to understand, yet written in a voice that draws readers into another world where geckos wriggle out of their skin and flying dragons glide from tree to tree. Endnotes help readers appreciate the amount of work and time that Bishop spent on each photograph and researching his information, particularly for the thorny devil, bearded-dragon hatchlings, and the basilisk, which is photographed literally running on water. Another amazing must-have title.-Cathie Bashaw Morton, Millbrook Central School District, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Once again Bishop brings us spectacular photographic images -- this time of lizards, with careful indications of scale and size -- accompanied by excellent scientific information about the many species, their behaviors, anatomy, and survival mechanisms, and the various desert and forest habitats in which they live. The text includes large-font sentences for beginning readers; more detailed facts about the animals are included in the rest of the text. The information is top rate, but it is yet again the photography that makes the book a standout. Bishop's brilliant color photographs bring us sharply into close-ups on the nubby texture of lizard skin or capture frame-by-frame the animals in mid-jump (most impressively across two foldout pages that show each and every nuance of a basilisk skimming the surface of water). As with other volumes in the series, Bishop ends the book by carefully explaining how the pictures are made both in the field and in his studio, commanding an additional level of respect for his photographic genius and dedication to achieving the perfect shot. danielle j. ford (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Continuing a splendid series of photo-essays, Bishop introduces lizards from around the world: their habitats, egg-laying and lack of child-rearing, their specialized bodies and behaviors, their feeding and courtship. His astonishing photographs are beautifully composed and clearly reproduced. This biologist and nature photographer has a knack for showing the perfect moment:A brown leaf-tailed gecko twists up like a dead leaf, except for its revealing pink tongue; a basilisk walks on water across a double gatefold; a veiled chameleon, holding on to a twig with its prehensile tail, stretches a long tongue forward at least the length of its body, catching a cricket. The author illustrates details mentioned in the text: the Komodo dragon's forked tongue; a flying dragon's skin flaps; a bearded dragon emerging from the leathery folds of its egg. The well-organized, two-leveled text is equally inviting, opening with the euphonious "Lizards lead lives that are full of surprises." Pictures are clearly captioned, and the magnification of animals shown at actual size or larger is indicated. For reading aloud or reading alone, this is another gem. (index, further reading, glossary, website) (Informational picture book. 4-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
