Review: The kids were GRIPPED!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2014
Presented in alphabetical order, there is a great selection of critters in this book which includes 10 snakes and 3 spiders. Although some of the animals are presented in their other books, many were fresh. Each 'chapter' included a photo and info on the following: AKA * Where in the world * What it eats * Venom Rating (1-5) * Danger to humans (1-5) * Description * Video linksWhat I loved about this book was the fact that it explained the toxin, whether it was a neurotoxin, hemotoxin etc and how it affected the body - symptoms, time to kill etc.Did you know that the venom from a Blue Ringed Octopus contains tetrodoxin which is up to 10,000 times more powerful than cyanide?! The symptoms of a bite from this guy are scarey!How about keeping the Deathstalker Scorpion as a pet? Some folks do! The Gaboon viper, one of the most fascinating snakes to watch, has really LONG fangs! Find out how long in this book. The poison of the Golden Dart Frog is very rare. What is it?A new one to us was the Irukandji, a VERY small species of box jellyfish. Nasty! Nasty! BUT fascinating!Did you know there was a killer caterpillar? Wait till you see this fella! How about a type of snail for which there is no antidote or antivenom? Which spider has fangs long enough to penetrate a finger nail? Yikes!At the end of the book there are 25 questions to test your knowledge of what has been read.So any problems? I think it has been proven now by researchers that not all female black widows kill their mates. A couple of the videos do not work: Deathstalker, first video is private and on the Sea Wasp, second video is not available. Please also note that on the third video for the Sea Wasp, the presenter experiments with stinging himself with an Irukandji and does swear due to the pain.Overall an EXCELLENT book, very educational. Our kids begged me each morning for more "Poisonous Animals" until we had completed it!