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This title in other editionseBook editionsWe Can't All Be Rattlesnakesby Patrick Jennings
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments: I am a snake. No, not a rattlesnake. I just look like one. I'm a gopher snake. One day an oily, filthy, fleshy human child crossed my path. As luck would have it, he knew the difference between a gopher snake and a rattlesnake. He has imprisoned me in a terrarium. His name is Gunnar. He calls me Crusher. He thinks I'm male. I'm not. He dropped in a dead mouse and hoped I'd eat it. I buried it. He then dropped in a live one, which he called "Breakfast." I didn't lay a coil on it. Gunnar thinks I'll be his adoring pet. He's wrong. In fact, I am planning my escape. I may take Breakfast with me. Crusher will charm readers in this entertaining, clever novel about a snake in captivity and how she turns the tables on her human captor. Review:"Told by Crusher, a gopher snake, this pointed story might encourage middle-graders to rethink their relationships to any pets that are incarcerated in cages. Briefly mistaken for a rattlesnake, the venomless Crusher is caught by Gunnar, 'an oily, filthy, fleshy human child' who displays an outsize insensitivity to his collection of creatures. Gunnar's mother, who never follows through on either threats or promises, and his uninvolved father do not build a strong case for the humans in this tale, although their characterizations explain a lot about Gunnar's expectations of his 'pets.' Advised by Gunnar's other captive reptiles, Crusher decides that her best chance at freedom lies in pretending to be fully domesticated; the trouble is, she begins to feel sorry for Gunnar. While the interspecies dialogue doesn't reach the heights of James Howe's Bunnicula comedies, the humor here is more acerbic and the focus more squarely on the human interactions. Ages 8 — 12." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) About the Author Patrick Jennings grew up in a small town in Indiana, where there were no wild, lethally venomous snakes. He then lived in rural Arizona, where they were many, including seventeen varieties of rattlesnake. As an adult, he decided to confront his fears and learn more about the creatures. The more he learned, the more he came to hold snakes in high regard, and he even held some of them in his own hands. He introduced live snakes to groups of children, allowing them to touch them, hoping to prevent new generations from misunderstanding—and therefore, fearing—snakes as he did. Even after all this, however, Patrick is still seriously creeped out by the reptiles. He now lives in Washington State, where there are no wild, lethally venomous snakes. We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes is his fourteenth book for young readers. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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