The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
LS5603.20, Genre 4—nonfiction.
1. Bibliography
Montgomery, Sy. 1999. The Snake Scientist. Photographs by Nic Bishop.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-87169-7
2. Plot Summary
The Snake Scientist is about the work of Bob Mason, a zoologist at
Oregon State University. There are chapters about his work with
snakes at the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area in Canada and at
his home, about the features that make snakes unique in the animal
kingdom, about his research into snake pheromones, and about how
snakes are useful to humans.
3. Critical Review
The Snake Scientist has won many awards including the International
Reading Association Award, Booklist Editor's Choice, and Orbis Pictus
Honor Book, among others. These awards are a good indication that
the book is well-written and accurate. The author herself is also
well-respected in the field of informational writing.
Sy Montgomery captures the reader’s attention from the very first
sentences of this book. She says, “You hear them before you see
them,” and then she describes the sound of the snakes as “a rustling
like wind in dry leaves.” Her sentence, “It’s the sound of thousands
of slithering snakes” brings to mind the sound of snakes hissing and
description of the snakes looking like moving ground would let the
reader know exactly what that many snakes together would look
like, even without the accompanying photograph.
Throughout the book, Montgomery uses interesting facts to keep
The Snake Scientist lively and interesting. She describes a bracelet
that Bob Mason wears that is made of snake bones. She also relates
the story of Mason’s career aptitude test that said he would not
make a good scientist. She uses that story to gently encourage
students to follow their dreams, saying that even tests can be wrong.
Montgomery does a good job of keeping the reader interested. She
uses quotes from Mason and some of his students and volunteers.
They are so excited and passionate about their work that it makes
the reader want to know more. She encourages that curiosity by
having questions throughout the book, including some that scientists
haven’t yet answered. Montgomery uses vocabulary appropriate
for a book about science, including technical terms like gas
chromatograph, pheromones, and mass spectrometer.
Nic Bishop’s photographs add to the visual appeal of the book, as
well as reinforcing the text by showing exactly what the writer is
saying. There are extreme close-up shots (a snake flicking its
forked tongue, another swallowing a tadpole, still another with its
mouth wide open and ready to strike), shots of thousands of snakes
in their den, and shots of scientists and volunteers working and
studying. Most of the pictures have a brief caption so that the
reader knows what he or she is seeing.
The book includes an index to help the reader locate information on
a specific topic. It also lists books for further study, information on
visiting the Narcisse snake dens, and a list of still-unanswered
questions about snakes.
4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: The lively text communicates both the
meticulous measurements required in this kind of work and the
thrill of new discoveries. Large, full-color photos of the zoologist
and young students at work, and lots of wriggly snakes, pull readers
into the presentation. A list of "unsolved mysteries" about the
snakes and instructions on visiting the snake dens will keep interest
high to the very last page.--Ruth S. Vose
Scientific American: “It may even make grown-ups want to grow
up to be scientists.” --Joan Silberlicht Epstein
Booklist: "A stellar example of how good such books can be."
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "Montgomery's zippy
text gives an engaging portrait of the scientific work, with assistants
weighing snakes in margarine tubs and putting them by the handful
into pillow cases, as well as the specific discoveries that Mason's
group has made…Mason's general and unstudied enthusiasm for
science in general will also galvanize many young readers…The
liveliness of the text and the synthesis of narrative and science make
this a particularly stellar entry."
About the author: "Sy Montgomery has insight into the Others that
every nature writer on this continent envies. I am no exception.
Clear, emotionally telling and always right to the point, her accounts
of the other forms of life are without peer.”—Farley Mowat, author of
Never Cry Wolf
5. Connections
Use this book as part of a science unit on reptiles in general or snakes in particular.
Make papier-mache snakes and paint them to look like the red-sided
garter or other snakes.
Use this book as a tool to teach reference skills like using an index.
Other books about snakes and reptiles:
I Wonder Why Snakes Shed Their Skins and Other Questions About
Reptiles by Amanda O’Neill. ISBN 978-0-753-40753-0
Slinky, Scaly Snakes by Jennifer A. Dussling. ISBN 978-0-789-43439-5
Snakes by Seymour Simon. ISBN 978-0-064-46165-8
100 Things You Should Know About Reptiles and Amphibians by Amy
Kay and Steve Parker. ISBN 978-0-760-75401-6
LS5603.20, Genre 4—nonfiction.
1. Bibliography
Montgomery, Sy. 1999. The Snake Scientist. Photographs by Nic Bishop.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-87169-7
2. Plot Summary
The Snake Scientist is about the work of Bob Mason, a zoologist at
Oregon State University. There are chapters about his work with
snakes at the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area in Canada and at
his home, about the features that make snakes unique in the animal
kingdom, about his research into snake pheromones, and about how
snakes are useful to humans.
3. Critical Review
The Snake Scientist has won many awards including the International
Reading Association Award, Booklist Editor's Choice, and Orbis Pictus
Honor Book, among others. These awards are a good indication that
the book is well-written and accurate. The author herself is also
well-respected in the field of informational writing.
Sy Montgomery captures the reader’s attention from the very first
sentences of this book. She says, “You hear them before you see
them,” and then she describes the sound of the snakes as “a rustling
like wind in dry leaves.” Her sentence, “It’s the sound of thousands
of slithering snakes” brings to mind the sound of snakes hissing and
description of the snakes looking like moving ground would let the
reader know exactly what that many snakes together would look
like, even without the accompanying photograph.
Throughout the book, Montgomery uses interesting facts to keep
The Snake Scientist lively and interesting. She describes a bracelet
that Bob Mason wears that is made of snake bones. She also relates
the story of Mason’s career aptitude test that said he would not
make a good scientist. She uses that story to gently encourage
students to follow their dreams, saying that even tests can be wrong.
Montgomery does a good job of keeping the reader interested. She
uses quotes from Mason and some of his students and volunteers.
They are so excited and passionate about their work that it makes
the reader want to know more. She encourages that curiosity by
having questions throughout the book, including some that scientists
haven’t yet answered. Montgomery uses vocabulary appropriate
for a book about science, including technical terms like gas
chromatograph, pheromones, and mass spectrometer.
Nic Bishop’s photographs add to the visual appeal of the book, as
well as reinforcing the text by showing exactly what the writer is
saying. There are extreme close-up shots (a snake flicking its
forked tongue, another swallowing a tadpole, still another with its
mouth wide open and ready to strike), shots of thousands of snakes
in their den, and shots of scientists and volunteers working and
studying. Most of the pictures have a brief caption so that the
reader knows what he or she is seeing.
The book includes an index to help the reader locate information on
a specific topic. It also lists books for further study, information on
visiting the Narcisse snake dens, and a list of still-unanswered
questions about snakes.
4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: The lively text communicates both the
meticulous measurements required in this kind of work and the
thrill of new discoveries. Large, full-color photos of the zoologist
and young students at work, and lots of wriggly snakes, pull readers
into the presentation. A list of "unsolved mysteries" about the
snakes and instructions on visiting the snake dens will keep interest
high to the very last page.--Ruth S. Vose
Scientific American: “It may even make grown-ups want to grow
up to be scientists.” --Joan Silberlicht Epstein
Booklist: "A stellar example of how good such books can be."
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "Montgomery's zippy
text gives an engaging portrait of the scientific work, with assistants
weighing snakes in margarine tubs and putting them by the handful
into pillow cases, as well as the specific discoveries that Mason's
group has made…Mason's general and unstudied enthusiasm for
science in general will also galvanize many young readers…The
liveliness of the text and the synthesis of narrative and science make
this a particularly stellar entry."
About the author: "Sy Montgomery has insight into the Others that
every nature writer on this continent envies. I am no exception.
Clear, emotionally telling and always right to the point, her accounts
of the other forms of life are without peer.”—Farley Mowat, author of
Never Cry Wolf
5. Connections
Use this book as part of a science unit on reptiles in general or snakes in particular.
Make papier-mache snakes and paint them to look like the red-sided
garter or other snakes.
Use this book as a tool to teach reference skills like using an index.
Other books about snakes and reptiles:
I Wonder Why Snakes Shed Their Skins and Other Questions About
Reptiles by Amanda O’Neill. ISBN 978-0-753-40753-0
Slinky, Scaly Snakes by Jennifer A. Dussling. ISBN 978-0-789-43439-5
Snakes by Seymour Simon. ISBN 978-0-064-46165-8
100 Things You Should Know About Reptiles and Amphibians by Amy
Kay and Steve Parker. ISBN 978-0-760-75401-6
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