Slithering into your heart: A bilingual kids book about a rattlesnake brings empathy
By Phyllis DeGioia
August 11, 2009
Some of us, including myself, grew up afraid of snakes. It’s sadly common. If I’d been able to read this new book – Katie of the Sonoran Desert/Katie del Desierto Sonorense – I might have grown up with an understanding of and empathy for snakes. Maybe I wouldn’t scream when I see a harmless corn snake, although I’m sure I’d still falter at seeing a live western diamondback rattlesnake anywhere outside a zoo. To help prevent your children from being terrified of snakes, read this book with them.
Written by herpetologist Kate Jackson, author of the fascinating Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, science and survival in the Congo (a bit terrifying for timid sorts. I couldn’t believe what she did in the field, as this woman doesn’t grasp the concept of fear or inability), the new book is based on a true story about a western diamond rattlesnack that Kate tagged. It’s written in third person from the snake’s point of view. You see her get tagged, attacked by a couple of predators, have babies and protect them, and get rescued.
The story is good, but the detailed illustrations by Natalie Rowe are simply breathtaking and make this book a candidate for a classic. The illustrations aid empathy for snakes as much, if not more, than the text. The pencil drawings are wonderfully intricate and many animals and plants are shown.
The bilingual aspect is handled perfectly. Rather than have the story appear in one language and then the other, the English and Spanish text are adjacent. Thus a book that provides empathy for a snake is also a language-learning tool for English-speaking people learning Spanish and for Spanish-speaking people learning English.
The story is only half of the book. The second half is full of information about the animals and plants depicted in the book, studying herps, what herpetologists do, tips on how to become a herpetologist, herpetological techniques, and so on. A glossary defines words shown in bold in the story. The stunning illustrations are used throughout the book.
While it’s a children’s book, it’s not meant for the wee ones. The story is told in large paragraphs of text using large type. I estimate the book to be appropriate for mid or upper elementary school children. But even if the text is too much for your kids, they will certainly love the illustrations.
I predict the publisher, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, will sell this wonderful book for many years to come. It has made me less afraid of snakes – why not you?
As soon as I read the title of her book about snakes in the Congo, I opened another search to my local library’s catalogue to place it on hold. Unfortunately, they don’t have either book (but several tv and movies showed up, haha), so later today I’ll stop by to see if I can get them to bring it in from another system.
I really like snakes. ‘Always have, and I still have the very first book I got about them, The Beginning Knowledge Book of Snakes (I think I was about 6), as well as the first library book sale purchase with babysitting $, Reptiles Around the World, gotten when I was maybe 13. I find them fascinating and beautiful. As I used to say in wildlife talks, “Can you climb a tree without having arms and legs? Can you swim with arms and legs? And ladies, look at that flat stomach - no crunches needed!” I’d have a reptile or three, except my friend is not a fan (isn’t afraid, but…), and they need more specialized care than most people realize. But if I had the $$…
Comment by KateH — August 11, 2009 @ 10:49 am
Uh, that should be “Can you swim without arms and legs?” And speaking of that, people don’t freak out about fish, yet they don’t have arms, legs, or eyelids, which are often reasons people give for finding snakes so ‘creepy.’ Personally, fish bother me 100% more than snakes. After having salmon fingerlings nibble on me when a cousin pulled me into the middle of a resevoir and left me, well, let’s just say I’m not a fan.
Comment by KateH — August 11, 2009 @ 11:29 am
I have always loved snakes and I have no idea where that came from. But I do.
As a kid, I was allowed to roam the local woods near our house and I can remember drinking out of a local bubbling stream - clear and beautiful and I never got sick - and seeing a snake staring back at me from the water. But he never bit me and I never tried to catch him so we co-existed.
Older, when I was in high school, I caught a six foot long black snake that in that area was called a black racer. Whether it actually was or not I have no idea. But I carried him home to show my mom, brother and sister and my mom locked me out of the house until my dad got home. HE appreciated the snake.
My husband and I have rescued snakes of various kinds for many years. And I’ve turned many rescued gopher snakes loose at our dog training yard to help control rodents. We see them often and they are doing a great job on the mice and gophers. We even got to watch a clutch of gopher snake babies grow up.
They are misunderstood but fascinating creatures.
Comment by Liz Palika — August 11, 2009 @ 11:42 am
Great book! Two of my favorite memories are of seeing a pink rattlesnake at the Grand Canyon and seeing two rattlesnakes doing some kind of pre-mating ritual fight (to see who was going to get the girl, maybe). That was on a hike a few years ago. A couple of minutes later, after they had slithered off, we saw a group of young kids with their teachers and told them where the snakes were so they wouldn’t have any dangerous encounters. The teachers immediately told the kids to watch out because there were some “bad” snakes nearby. Sigh. I guess that was easiest for kids that age to understand, but I wish they could have found some better word to use.
Comment by Kim Thornton — August 11, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
Thank you for such a wonderful review of the book! I am thrilled to think that “Katie” might make people appreciate snakes more, while being a little less afraid of these much-maligned reptiles. I think Kate’s love for these creatures shines through in the story.
As for me, I’ve long had a thing for snakes, ever since I was the only girl in my grade five class who would touch the snake brought in by a visiting herpetologist. :) I sincerely hope girls are less squeamish these days!
My mother was absolutely terrified of snakes, but in the last year of her life, when Mum was dying from cancer, we visited Kate at Harvard. Kate showed my mother a very nice non-venomous snake (I forget now what type it was, but it was native to Ontario) and my mother bravely stroked it, and actually overcame her lifelong fear. I remember my mother saying how nice the snake’s skin felt, not slimey at all! It was a wonderful moment.
I hope everyone enjoys the book!
PS: Tarantulas and scorpions and spiders are pretty cool too. :)
Comment by Natalie Rowe — August 11, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
I never minded handling snakes at the various veterinary practices I worked at; and when we lived outside of Hemet, CA we often had to move a big old gopher snake out of our driveway so he wouldn’t get run over. I’m a little paranoid about rattlers, though, because of the dogs. So far no bites in 14 years in Wyoming, but we have to be vigilant even in their own dogyard!
Comment by Maria Shanley — August 11, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
I grew up on an old hill farm in the middle of West Virginia, and I lived just down a gravel road from my grandparents. My grandpa had grown up catching snakes and lizards, and he was a bit of an amateur naturalist. Let’s just say that he passed on this love for “mean and lowly” things to his grandson.
I have caught snakes and lizards ever since I can remember. (And I was taught what a poisonous snake looked like, so I never picked one up). I remember watching Steve Irwin on television as if he were some sort of kindred spirit, although I can’t see myself getting that crazy.
I’m glad that Kate Jackson has written such a book for children. Rattlesnakes are so horribly misunderstood. The native rattlesnake to my part of West Virginia the timber rattler, is still heavily persecuted, even though it was recently named the state reptile.
Comment by retrieverman — August 11, 2009 @ 5:19 pm