UNIQUE FORMAT: Using a highly illustrated chapter book format, this book imparts traditional non-fiction information in a way that is especially appealing to reluctant readers and readers of comics and graphic novels.

LOL: So many elements combine to make this book laugh-out-loud: the meta-style voice, the narrator’s hairbrained ideas, the expressive characters, a stylish cockroach, a guileless boy and a seemingly sinister snake.

ILLUSTRATOR PROFILE: Kathryn is a young and very talented illustrator whose profile is growing, especially since the publication of Hey Grandude!.

FRESH & QUIRKY: Rachel is a non-fiction author who is known for her wonderfully quirky and clever approach. She is experienced in classroom visits and has an interesting background in taxidermy!

RACHEL POLIQUIN is a writer engaged in all things orderly and disorderly in the natural world. With a cross-disciplinary background in visual arts, cultural history and natural history, she holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of British Columbia and a Post-Doctoral Degree in History from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rachel is the author of the Superpower Field Guide series, and has also written for Science Friday, The Believer Magazine, and the New York Times.

Author Residence: Vancouver, British Columbia

KATHRYN DURST is a graduate of Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. She has a background in animation, having interned with Pixar Animation Studios. Kathryn has illustrated numerous children's books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller from Paul McCartney, Hey Grandude!. When she is not illustrating books, she can be found playing the accordion, growing vegetables, folk dancing or putting on shadow puppet shows. She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her grumpy mini dachshund named Chili Dog.

Illustrator Residence: Toronto, Ontario

One of Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books for Kids and Teens, Fall 2021

“Durst's digitally finished crayon pencil pictures are appropriately lively and goofy, and her naïve anatomical graphs are equally comical and effective. Try this at storytime, when it’s likely to please both snake-lovers and snake-haters.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“Rachel Poliquin has given Celeste a chatty voice that keeps the facts-filled text from sounding pedantic, and Kathryn Durst . . . extends it with her comically funny depiction of the characters and their actions.” —Montreal Gazette

“A clever and entertaining approach to discovering the pertinent factual aspects of pythons while enjoying a goofy, easy-to-read story.” —CM Magazine