Lizards are cool. Literally. They are ectotherms, which means they can’t make their own heat. That’s why you see many types of lizards basking in the sun, seemingly doing nothing at all. That’s the life. But make no mistake, lizards have very busy lives—looking for food and avoiding being food. Popular science writer Sneed B. Collard III gets down and dirty with all kinds of lizards—from your average "Joe Lizard," the western fence lizard, to the impressively large Komodo dragon. In a kid-friendly narrative, Sneed explores many different kinds of lizards, their habitats, defense systems, hunting techniques, and mating rituals. He reveals the exciting life of a lizard—from rappelling from the tops of trees to the forest floor, to dropping off a tail to get away from a predator.
So Many Lizards, So Little Information Most people don’t know very much about lizards. This seems odd when you consider that lizards—or saurians, as they are sometimes called—are the most common reptiles on the planet. According to the German Herpetological Society’s TIGR Reptile Database (www.reptile-database.org), scientists have described more than five thousand species of lizards—more than all other reptiles combined. So why don’t people know much about lizards? Maybe we don’t bother learning about them because lizards can’t win football games or help us with our homework. Maybe lizards are so common we simply overlook them. But maybe, just maybe, we don’t know about lizards because most of us have never had the chance to. . . . Meet Joe Lizard
Sneed B. Collard III has been a biologist, computer scientist, and author. He began writing after graduating with honors in marine biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Sneed is the author of several children’s books for Charlesbridge including, Creepy Creatures, Our Wet World, Forest in the Clouds, and One Night in the Coral Sea. Other books include Sea Snakes (Boyds Mills Press), Smart Survivors(NorthWord Press), Animal Dads (Houghton Mifflin), and Monteverde (Franklin Watts). These books have won a number of awards and honors from organizations such as the American Library Association, New York Public Library, National Council of Teachers of English, and Reading Rainbow.
View titles by Sneed B. Collard III
Lizards are cool. Literally. They are ectotherms, which means they can’t make their own heat. That’s why you see many types of lizards basking in the sun, seemingly doing nothing at all. That’s the life. But make no mistake, lizards have very busy lives—looking for food and avoiding being food. Popular science writer Sneed B. Collard III gets down and dirty with all kinds of lizards—from your average "Joe Lizard," the western fence lizard, to the impressively large Komodo dragon. In a kid-friendly narrative, Sneed explores many different kinds of lizards, their habitats, defense systems, hunting techniques, and mating rituals. He reveals the exciting life of a lizard—from rappelling from the tops of trees to the forest floor, to dropping off a tail to get away from a predator.
Excerpt
So Many Lizards, So Little Information Most people don’t know very much about lizards. This seems odd when you consider that lizards—or saurians, as they are sometimes called—are the most common reptiles on the planet. According to the German Herpetological Society’s TIGR Reptile Database (www.reptile-database.org), scientists have described more than five thousand species of lizards—more than all other reptiles combined. So why don’t people know much about lizards? Maybe we don’t bother learning about them because lizards can’t win football games or help us with our homework. Maybe lizards are so common we simply overlook them. But maybe, just maybe, we don’t know about lizards because most of us have never had the chance to. . . . Meet Joe Lizard
Sneed B. Collard III has been a biologist, computer scientist, and author. He began writing after graduating with honors in marine biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Sneed is the author of several children’s books for Charlesbridge including, Creepy Creatures, Our Wet World, Forest in the Clouds, and One Night in the Coral Sea. Other books include Sea Snakes (Boyds Mills Press), Smart Survivors(NorthWord Press), Animal Dads (Houghton Mifflin), and Monteverde (Franklin Watts). These books have won a number of awards and honors from organizations such as the American Library Association, New York Public Library, National Council of Teachers of English, and Reading Rainbow.
View titles by Sneed B. Collard III
