Summary: This book explains what a reptile is. It starts with the definition then describes what kind of bodies they can have. The books then describes that reptiles have to keep a balance between being not too hot and not too cold and how they hibernate. Reptiles are mostly carnivores but some such as chelonians are omnivores. Most reptiles live in tropical areas on land, in water, in trees and underground.The books then talks about reptiles when they are young and how they defend themselves. The final part of the book breaks the reptiles down into snakes, lizards, chelonians, tuataras, and give further information on them.
Personnel reaction: I really enjoyed reading this book. I learned quite a bit about reptiles that I did not previously know. The book has several pictures on each page which divide the book from being too wordy.
Classroom Extension Activity:
1. When my class and I are talking about reptiles I would use this as a source to let them learn more.
2. Could be used to get them interested in one specific reptile to do a powerpoint or presentation on. ( )

I read Bobbie Kalman’s What is a Reptile?” without thinking much about what I was getting into. The cover says that it is a “Bobbie Kalman Book” so this is clearly part of a series. The images on the cover include what appear to be turtles, an alligator, and some kind of iguana or Kimodo dragon perhaps. The Table of Contents is in a box superimposed on a snakeskin background and lists topics such as “Reptile bodies”, “Food and hunting”, and “Self-defense”. There are also categories listed including “Snakes”, “Lizards”, “Chelonians”, and “Tuataras”, and I have to admit that I had never heard of some of these terms. Kalman includes both photographs and drawings for each sub-topic, and has captions for each in addition to an overview of the sub-topic. There is plenty of white space on each page to balance out the text and images, and Kalman puts unfamiliar vocabulary words in bold text and includes a glossary in the back as needed. Some of the sub-topics were familiar to me and I am sure to most readers, such as the basic characteristics of reptiles, their sleep habits, and the way they feed. However, I felt that some of the pictures were really graphic, such as the one showing a California king snake squeezing its prey to death. I felt that Kalman’s explanation of the differences between alligators and crocodiles, and turtles and tortoises, were very well written and easy to understand. I was unfamiliar with the term “Chelonian”, which refers to a reptile with a shell, and also “Tuatara”, which is its own category of reptile. I am not a huge fan of reptiles and steer clear of them at the zoo, but I did appreciate this book and Kalman’s straightforward writing style. ( )