You'd think it would be hard to survive in the wild without legs. But look at snakes! More than 2,500 different kinds of snakes slither and creep throughout the world. They live almost everywhere on Earth, except for the North and South Poles, and some isolated islands. Snakes come in only one shape, but they come in many patterns and sizes -- from the two-inch long thread snakes that are as skinny as the lead in your pencil to the thirty-two foot reticulated python that is big enough to eat a pig or small child.

Kendahl Jan Jubb's lush and scientifically accurate illustrations capture these scaly predators as they hunt, hide, and reproduce. As far back as the Garden of Eden snakes have had the power to both fascinate and repel us. Their deadly simplicity is always compelling.