Tim Harris (2)

Alligators by Tim Harris

1. Main characters
Alligators

2. Write the summary of the book.

Alligators and their close relatives-caimans and crocodiles- are called crocodilans. Alligators and caimans have shorter, broader snouts than crocodiles. Alligators are also bigger than caimans. The teeth on an alligator's jaw fit nearly into slots in the upper jaw when the mouth is shut. But the forth teeth on either side of a crocodile's lower jaw doesn't fit snugly. They stick out when the mouth is shut.
If an alligator lays 40 eggs, how many will be male and how many will be female? Often, all the eggs in the nest turn out to be male. Or all might be female.It is the temperature that actually affects whether the young are male or female. If the eggs were incubated in a cool nest, the young turn out to be male. If the eggs developed in a warmer nest, the young turn out to be female.

3. Write your feelings about the book in details.

Alligators and other reptiles are not warm-blooded. ... They can also cool down by opening their jaws to let heat escape through the dump linking of their mouth(See p.28)

It's the same way as dogs but dogs are not cold-blooded.

4. Write the words, phrases or sentences that impressed you most in the book and explain why they impressed you. Or you could write your questions about the book.

Large fish, snapping turtles, herons, and bullfrogs will snap up the babies if given a chance. About nine out of every ten babies die before they reach their first birthday(See p. 44)

They have difficulty surviving though their mother protects them.… (altro)

Snakes Nature's Children by Tim Harris

1. Main characters
Snakes

2. Write the summary of the book.

Snakes do not have eyelids or ear flaps but they can still see and hear. The surface of a snake's eye is covered it all time by see-through scale called spectacle. The spectacle protects the eye, so the snake does not need to blink. The eyes are always open, even when the snake is asleep.
Mammals breathe with two lungs, which are the same size. But a snake breathes with one very long, thin lung. The lung is stretched out inside its body. Snakes have a second lung, too, but it is too tiny to be of any use.

3. Write your feelings about the book in details.

Many snakes that do live where it is cooler are black and brown. These dark colours take in heat from the sun faster than pale colours and so help keep animals warm(See p 40).

Japanese snakes might have dark colours as to get warm.

4. Write the words, phrases or sentences that impressed you most in the book and explain why they impressed you. Or you could write your questions about the book.

If a snake swallows a very large animal, it does not need to eat again for along time. The longest known time a snake has gone out without eating is two years and nine months(See p. 36)

It's hard to live without eating anything for a long time for me!… (altro)