The Snake Who Was Afraid of People

by Barry Louis Polisar

illustrated by David Clark

$14.95, 32 p. color illustrated.

ISBN# 0-938663-16-X

This book was endorsed by the National Humane Society and later reprinted in the National Wildlife Federation's magazine for children, Your Big Backyard. People Magazine also wrote about this book and the underlying themes of both of Barry's snake books, saying, "we should trust our instincts."

This color edition is a great sequel to Polisar's earlier tale, Snakes and the Boy Who Was Afraid of Them and reveals the deep-rooted feelings of a snake who is afraid of people. His fears prove well-founded when he is captured by a school-aged child and held captive in a jar with little air. A humorous scene ensues when the boy is at school and the boys mother tries to get rid of the snake, whacking at it with a broom. The snake manages to escape and goes into hiding, aided by a group of beret-wearing reptiles who are really operating underground. The picture of the snake, disguised as an elderly man waiting for the bus, is delightful; his tail is subtly wrapped around the bus stop sign for support. "Polisar's work," writes The Sunday Deseret News, "could be, line for line, the most entertaining literature in the business...thoroughly outrageous."