I (Don't) Like Snakes

A girl’s family shows her oodles of cool details about snakes.

While other families keep dogs, cats, or birds as pets, this first-person narrator is seriously displeased that her own keeps snakes. Why does she mind? Some of her reasons are based on myths (she thinks they’re slimy), while others are correct (they do slither). But for every complaint, her father, mother, and brother explain such fascinating snake traits that she’s hooked. From funny (“The snake wriggles out of its skin the way you pull your foot out of a sock, leaving the old skin inside out!”) to shiver-inducing (“They have fangs that are hollow, like a doctor’s needle, which inject venom. They strike like lightning”), the facts are captivating. Mixed-media drawings feature energetically scruffy lines and vibrant colors, and multiple scenes appear per page, showing the family at home and snakes in the wild. One close-up drawing of multicolored snake heads, emphasizing their varying lidless eyes, is downright beautiful. It’s somewhat implausible that this family has evidently kept snakes all along yet the girl still thought they were slimy, but that hiccup pales before Lozano’s dynamic visual blend of storybook arc and nonfiction.

The protagonist isn’t the only one who will find snakes spellbinding by the end. (author’s note, bibliography, index) (Informational picture book. 4-9)

In this slithery tale about overcoming fears, a girl with an aversion to snakes has the misfortune of belonging to a snake-loving family. Using knowledge as an antivenin to her phobia, her parents explain how snakes move—giving details about their markings and skin, which is not slimy—and describe how these reptiles use their tongues and eyes. Her brother tries to scare her by relating how snakes capture their prey. In the end, for this youngster, to know them is to “really, really, reeeeealllly LIKE THEM!” Most of the double-page spreads feature pleasant cartoon drawings of the family on the left and realistic drawings of snakes and their distinctive qualities on the right. A different font is used to distinguish the family’s dialogue from the information about the snakes, clearly separating fact from fiction. Although this might not cure ophidiophobia, its duo design will let it slide easily into a storytime setting or into the hands of older readers looking for more detailed information about snakes.— Randall Enos

K-Gr 2--Readers may agree with the young serpent-loathing protagonist of this book, but her family doesn't. When they respond to her declaration "I really, really, REALLY don't like snakes!" with a resounding "WHY?" the stage is set for a series of complaints. With each argument, the girl finds herself backsliding. Her objections--slithering movements, slimy skin, flicking tongues, and staring eyes--are all overcome with explanations and rebuttals. Soon she is sharing interesting facts with her family, and (no surprise here) she finally announces her change of heart. Pet snakes that are reminiscent of those in Tomi Ungerer's Crictor (HarperCollins, 1958) are everywhere to be found, while snake skins decorate the family's furniture, shoes, rugs, walls, and the book's endpapers. Cartoon artwork and italicized text are used for the fictional story, while a more realistic art style with standard text for factual elements. Most snakes are identified, and brief back matter adds additional information. VERDICT While many readers won't be as easily converted as the book's narrator, this title may spur them on to learn more.--Carol S. Surges, formerly at Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"Some families have dogs, or cats, or birds. But my family has snakes. They love them!" explains an exasperated girl. One by one, her hipstery family members, who lounge around the house draped in snakes, dissect her anti-snake arguments. "Snakes have to slither," says Mom. "It's the only way they can move." And those "creepy" stares? "They stare... because they can't blink," Dad tells her. Lozano expertly shifts between scribbly cartoons of the family and more naturalistic drawings of snakes and their anatomy, accompanied by information-packed captions from Davies. The narrator overcomes her aversion a bit too easily, but the book' blend of playfulness and scientific detail make it a winner. Ages 5-9. (Sept.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Davies perfectly balances the gross, cool, and scary to help readers appreciate this much-maligned reptile. Lozano's illustrations extend this tone, adding humor and additional narrative to portrayals of the family as well as careful detailing of snake species in the more informative sections.
—The Horn Book 

This book would make a clever mentor text for classroom animal reports, encouraging readers and writers to think deeply about the creative ways to present both narratives and information.
—Literacy Daily

This is a worthwhile addition to the elementary school library, and could be useful to entice the reluctant nonfiction reader to give the genre a try.
—School Library Connection