A snake smells with its tongue, hears with its flesh, and breathes under the sand with one lung; it can copulate for days with one snake or with fifty at once; it has infrared radar; and it can induce spontaneous bleeding if threatened. With all these qualities, it is easy to see how snakes have such varied associations in cultures around the world: while celebrated in tattoos and tales, and for medicinal benefits, snakes are also so universally feared that they constantly endure intense persecution and rarely enjoy protected rights. Drake Stutesman explores here in Snake the fascinating natural history of the maligned serpentine. Stutesman examines a wide range of sources to investigate the complex and widespread symbolism the snake has inspired, including the serpent's temptation of Eve in the Bible, Kaa in The Jungle Book, the Chinese zodiac, Indian snake charmers, and the Hollywood film Anaconda. She looks at the role snakes have played in human culture and science, from snake cuisine and the use of venom in medicine to the intriguing history of snake symbolism in art, architecture, cinema, and even clothing. Richly illustrated and written in an engaging style, Snake is an invaluable resource for snake enthusiasts and scholars, as well as for all who love, admire, or fear this fascinating and enduring animal.

"Can Drake play a trick to escape from Snake?" -- Back cover.

Don't teach the bunny rabbits your own disgusting habits. Don't picnic with a python in the park. Everyone knows about saying please and thank you, and not talking with your mouth full. But when it comes to dealing with tiny dogs and hairy chimpanzees, things get a lot more complicated. Rollicking rhymes combine perfectly with Nick Sharratt's trademark witty illustrations in this thoroughly modern look at good behavior.

Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

High-interest extreme sport story meets thrilling survival stories with unique and dangerous settings.

In the year 2050, 1st Lieutenant Russell Winters finds himself stranded and alone on an alien world, the only survivor of the destruction of his ship. With no communications, few supplies, and fewer answers, Winters must pick up the pieces and make good on his final orders. Survival isn't a solo endeavor, however, and the planet has more surprises in store than he could ever imagine...

There's a big racket at Polly's holiday home for pets. With a house full of greedy guinea pigs, pesky parrots and slithering snakes, Mum is getting more fed up by the day! So it's the last straw when Doris the snake goes missing. Can Polly find Doris before the hungry snake finds the guinea pigs?

With a focus on building phonics skills, this collection includes seven fun stories with colourful illustrations. It is ideal for children who are growing in reading confidence. Find out what Spike has to say, why Nasim is an unusual kind of knight and what happens to the snake and the drake.Tips for reading together explain the letter patterns that each story focuses on and identify any words children may find tricky, helping you to get the most out of the collection.Former Children's Laureate and author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, has captivated children all over the world with her lively and engaging stories. Songbirds is a phonics programme carefully created by Julia to support children who are learning to read and is used in schools to inspire a loveof reading. There are eight Songbirds story collections for you to enjoy.Featuring much-loved characters, great authors, engaging storylines and fun activities, Read with Oxford offers an exciting range of carefully levelled reading books to build your child's reading confidence.Find practical advice, free eBooks and fun activities to help your child progress on oxfordowl.co.uk. Let's get them flying!

Songbirds stories are beautifully written, lively and fully decodable. The stories are based on synthetic phonics, assisting in the development of reading skills in the early primary years.Fantastic breadth of storylines, rhyme, rhythm and genres.Systematic structure and levelling to guarantee progress.A wide range of illustration styles brings each story to life.Levelled to Oxford stages of the reader for easy classroom management.

Songbirds Phonics combines real phonic stories with interactive whiteboard software to deliver the requirements for high-quality phonics teaching resources. Written by award-winning Julia Donaldson, these stories provide fun, fully decodable texts with built-in progression help your pupils achieve immediate reading success. They are fully in line with the 2006 Framework and the simple view of reading. Each book includes notes for parents/carers and teaching assistants on the inside covers. This book is also available as part of a mixed pack of 6 different books or a class pack of 36 books of the same ORT stage. Each book pack comes with a free copy of up-to-date and invaluable teaching notes. The books are complemented by eSongbirds interactive whiteboard software which offers a systematic, quality phonics teaching through a multi-sensory approach.