Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles
Title: Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles
Authors: Corey Tutt and Ben Williams
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Shortlist: Children's Literature
This is the ultimate reptile book for kids by DeadlyScience founder Corey Tutt, bestselling author of The First Scientists. Bursting with vibrant illustrations and cool facts about more than 60 reptiles, Corey celebrates First Nations knowledge about animals found on Country, from lizards and snakes to turtles and crocodiles.
As a child, Corey would run barefoot across fields, climb rocks, jump into creeks and explore red sands in search of reptiles. The only reference books he could find included European and Latin names, but as a Kamilaroi man, Corey was keen to learn reptile names in First Languages.
Sharing knowledge from 20 different First Nations, Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles is a reptile book unlike any you've seen before. For each reptile featured, you'll discover its name in a First Language, plus learn about favourite feeds, breeding and babies, conservation, predators and prey, and most importantly, what makes that reptile deadly (in a good way). There are also descriptions of the landscapes where you can spot these reptiles, and Ben Williams' colourful illustrations will have you turning every page in wonder.
The amazing facts in this book will astound you! Did you know that a central bearded dragon's beard can change colour to protect it from predators? Or that the temperature of a turtle egg nest determines if the baby turtles will be boys or girls? Or that some First Nations names for reptiles can be more scientifically accurate than the European names, such as the common death adder that is more closely related to a brown snake than an adder?
Corey will introduce you to this incredible world of reptiles, which may be deadly in more ways than one.
Judges’ Report
Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles is vibrant, transformative nonfiction. Grounding wildlife education in a decolonising and unapologetically First Nations lens, the book centres Indigenous languages and knowledges, the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia and an invitation to meet each reptile through Country, culture and care. Scientific information is offset by humour and visually delicious illustrations that revel in each creature’s deadly beauty. A cultural intervention as much as a field guide, this work restores names, honours Elders and fosters a deeply relational understanding of land and life. As accessible as it is profound, it is as educational as it is relationally authoritative.
Extract
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About the Authors
Corey Tutt
Ben Williams
VPLA book photography by Shannyn Higgins
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are proudly supported by the Victorian Government.
