Pub date: August 29, 2023
Watch this page for more reviews, teacher's guide, videos, coloring sheets, and more...
Watch this page for more reviews, teacher's guide, videos, coloring sheets, and more...
LIZARDS AT LARGE:
21 Remarkable Reptiles at Their Actual Size
21 Remarkable Reptiles at Their Actual Size
For the short snappy book trailer for "Lizards at Large"
click the image above or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuBfwwJu7No
click the image above or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuBfwwJu7No
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For the Holiday House Star Storytime video on "Lizards," showing some of the original art and making the cover, click: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INuJwH_4-DA |
Want to color in some lizards?
Click on the B&W drawing below (or pdfs link) & print out on 8.5"x11" paper (or larger). Have fun!!
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Authors LOVE the exciting moment when we open the box from our publisher with the actual books - we slave over the project for literally YEARS, and turn the work in to the publisher at least a year before we can hold a copy in our anxious hands. Unusually, I have TWO books, "Lizards at Large" and "A Day in the Life of the Desert," coming out in August. So I honestly did NOT know which copies had arrived! Click on video to watch... |
How about checking out some nice reviews?
BOOKLIST
Employing a format like that used in Rodent Rascals (2018), Munro highlights 21 lizards, describing their unique features, noteworthy behaviors, and unusual defenses against predators. Following an introduction that distinguishes lizards from amphibians and other reptiles, she presents species ranging from five-lined skinks (who discard their blue tails to distract predators) to armadillo girdled lizards (tiny dragon-like creatures that give birth to live young) to worm lizards (which live underground and can be mistaken for earthworms) to green plumed basilisks (which can run on water as well as swim). Munro uses India ink and acrylics in illustrations that realistically render the animals at life-size and within their natural habitats. The early pages depict smaller creatures (four to a spread), building to full spreads for larger species (Australian frilled lizards, Gila monsters, and green iguanas) and two full-page spreads depicting sections of a Komodo dragon. Information about each animal is brief with details guaranteed to pique readers' interests; additional particulars, further reading, websites, and glossary are appended.
Perfect for browsers and those craving the gross factor. — Kay Weisman
KIRKUS
Discover the world of reptiles.
Munro follows her presentation of life-size coral reef inhabitants (Dive In, 2020) with another informative introduction showcasing 21 lizard species from around the world. Like her many other nonfiction titles for young readers, this one features careful research and thoughtful selections of examples and details that will be both engaging and useful for identification. Lizards, she tells us in an introduction, have been on Earth since before the dinosaurs. They’ve fascinated humans for millennia. Most are harmless, and their habit of eating insects is helpful. Each depicted lizard gets a life-size portrait and a paragraph of introduction. The smaller lizards appear three or four to a spread, and readers work their way up from the armadillo girdled lizard and the green anole, which range from 5 to 8 inches in length, to the 10-foot Komodo dragon, which requires two spreads (and even then much of the lizard’s long tail is left out). In these detailed and accurate ink and acrylic paintings, a bit of environmental context surrounds each example. Useful words are italicized in context and defined in a helpful glossary. The backmatter includes further information about each of the chosen species, including Latin name, length, habitat, diet, bodily and behavioral adaptations, and even nicknames. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A straightforward and appealing introduction. (author’s note, books, website, index) (Informational picture book. 6-10)
Youth Services Book Review
Reviews of current nonfiction, fiction, and picture books by Massachusetts Librarians
Lizards at Large: 21 Remarkable Reptiles at Their Actual Size
by Roxie Munro. Holiday House, 2023. 9780823453603
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Format: Hardcover
What did you like about the book? Amazing, little known reptiles are introduced with colorful, detailed illustrations that fill the pages of this book. An introduction to lizards in general starts on the first page. After that, Munro describes one or two reptiles per page, showing what makes them unique, whether it be their looks or their behaviors. From cute to kookie to really bizarre, it’s bound to be both fun and educational!
Anything you didn’t like about it? Not at all
To whom would you recommend this book? Children ages 5-10, great for those who like reptiles and want to know more as well as those who might be creeped out by reptiles as it shows that they can be such interesting and varied creatures. Read-alikes: children who like animals might also like Follow the Flyway: The Marvel of Bird Migration by Sarah Nelson.
Who should buy this book? Elementary schools and public libraries.
Where would you shelve it? Non-Fiction, picture books
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes!
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Vicky Tandy, Athol Public Library, Athol, MA
Date of review: September 26, 2023