Scorpions!: Strange and Wonderful

Strange and Wonderful

by Laurence Pringle, Meryl Learnihan Henderson (Illustrator)

We have been taught to fear scorpions in any form. But scorpions usually sting either to subdue their prey or to protect themselves. In fact, Earth has two thousand scorpion species, but only a few dozen are deadly to humans. With vivid descriptions of scorpions' life cycle, body structure, habits, and habitat and beautiful, realistic illustrations, this new entry in the popular Strange and Wonderful series explores one of nature's feared and misunderstood creatures.

Genres: Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy books by Pringle because he’s from New York State and many of them are about animals or places in the state. Thankfully, there no scorpions here (I hope—maybe I’d better email Pringle and ask!). I didn’t know that scorpions are arachnids, which I always think of as spiders. Pringle provides a wealth of information here about about the various species, how to tell the pseudoscorpions (false scorpions) from the real ones, the variety of species (about 100 live here in the United States), and how they hunt, eat, and reproduce. I especially enjoyed the information on fossil scorpions and scorpions in history. I didn’t know that ancient Egypt had a scorpion goddess, Serket, who was said to protect two of its rulers—and that’s where the name of the movie “The Scorpion King” came from. Pringle also tells us how to tell if a scorpion’s venom is weak or powerful—it’s all in the claws. Big claws, weak venom; small claws, strong venom. Good to know if I ever encounter one! The only fact he mentioned which I wish he’d elaborated on a little further is that scorpions emit a blue glow under ultraviolet light. How do they do that? Maybe the explanation is too complex for a children’s book. That’s another question I’ll have to email him about.

The illustrations by Henderson are perfect. The scorpions are depicted life-sized in either the illustrations or in smaller silhouettes. The smallest one from Mexico is so teeny, and the largest one from western Africa is a monster!

I learned a lot here. Readers young and old will too. Highly recommended.

[Breezy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so detailed it is almost creepy! I don't just mean the words, but the pictures. I'm not a bug/insect person... I mean you can see the little hairs! Ahem, this book was filled with interesting facts and some very fascinating things to think about. I never would have thought scorpions were around with the dinosaurs and used to be huge compared to now! I imagine that many young boys and girls will love this book and be amazed at some of the things it will teach them.

[Kiddo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but full of facts and beautifully detailed paintings. The book give a broad overview of scorpions including comments about animals with scorpion in the name which are not, in fact, scorpions, the evolutionary history of scorpions, some stories of scorpions in cultural history, and current global habitat. There are also paragraphs about a handful of specific scorpions. Each picture is accompanied by a silhouette in actual size. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chocked full of information about a variety of scorpions. Some of it seems a bit contradictory, which may cause confusion to younger report writers who will need to read carefully. The illustrations are gorgeous and minutely detailed.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed professionally.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy yet fascinating.

[Ashish Ahsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview on strange and wonderful scorpions, from their life, food to place in the ecology