Title: Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles

Author: Corey Tutt, illustrated by Ben Williams

Genre: Science

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 4^th February 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 140

Price: $32.99

Synopsis: This is the ultimate reptile book for kids by DeadlyScience founder Corey Tutt, bestselling author of The First Scientists. Bursting with vibrant illustrations and cool facts about more than 60 reptiles, Corey celebrates First Nations knowledge about animals found on Country, from lizards and snakes to turtles and crocodiles.

As a child, Corey would run barefoot across fields, climb rocks, jump into creeks and explore red sands in search of reptiles. The only reference books he could find included European and Latin names, but as a Kamilaroi man, Corey was keen to learn reptile names in First Languages.

Sharing knowledge from 20 different First Nations, Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles is a reptile book unlike any you’ve seen before. For each reptile featured, you’ll discover its name in a First Language, plus learn about favourite feeds, breeding and babies, conservation, predators and prey, and most importantly, what makes that reptile deadly (in a good way). There are also descriptions of the landscapes where you can spot these reptiles, and Ben Williams’ colourful illustrations will have you turning every page in wonder.

The amazing facts in this book will astound you! Did you know that a central bearded dragon’s beard can change colour to protect it from predators? Or that the temperature of a turtle egg nest determines if the baby turtles will be boys or girls? Or that some First Nations names for reptiles can be more scientifically accurate than the European names, such as the common death adder that is more closely related to a brown snake than an adder?

Corey will introduce you to this incredible world of reptiles, which may be deadly in more ways than one.

An earlier version of this review appeared in Good Reading Magazine in March 2025.

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There are some fabulous books out and coming out that explore Indigenous culture, knowledge and history, making it accessible to audiences of all ages, and filling in the gaps that many people have. One of these recent books is Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles by Corey Tutt, which explores a range of reptiles across Australia in relation to the Country they live on, and combines what we know with interesting facts and knowledge from the Country these reptiles are on. Each page r spread examines what the reptiles look like, where they live, what they do, how they reproduce and, going to the core of Corey’s book – what makes them deadly – or cool. Although, some can kill you as well, so they can fit both definitions of deadly. It’s a great educational tool, because whilst we may know some of this knowledge, there is other information that is new, and exciting to learn about. And the book explores over 60 reptiles from 20 Indigenous Nations in Australia that Corey consulted with to create the book to share knowledge and bring this all to life for everyone who doesn’t know about it.

The book is filled with snakes, lizards, crocodiles, geckos and more from across Australia, and explores their endangered status, and whether  they are venomous in an inclusive and open way, starting with a cover page for each Nation, where it is, what it is called, and how to pronounce it, followed by an acknowledgement towards each one, to show the readers the meaning of this simple and respectful act and the words used. Whilst each title page uses a small map of Australia as it is now, and highlights the specific area being explored, there is another very useful map at the beginning of the book. The AIATSIS map that shows where each Country and Language group is and what they are next to. It is a key part of Corey’s fabulous introduction that explains why he chose the Nations or Country spoken about and explored in each chapter, how he chose them and what inspired him to write this book. And why it is important for books like this to share knowledge with everyone, because it is part of Australia as it was then, and as it was now.

Indigenous knowledge covers so many things – stories, art, history and in a book like this, science and biology. Corey does a great job of making this accessible to people learning the new words too, whether Indigenous words or English scientific words they may never have come across. All of these are presented in a glossary at the end, and the tone throughout is informative and fun – it is after all, aimed at readers aged 8 and older, but there is a sense that this is really a book for anyone as well. I certainly learned a lot from this book, and one of the things I loved was that it’s just as easy to dip in and out of as it is to read cover to cover. You can explore a single reptile as a starting point for your own research, or a Nation and it’s reptiles – there are some that have more than others as well. I found this to be another interesting aspect, and learning that there might be some that cross over into a few Nations. Everything about this book makes it perfect for a class exploring reptiles, or just a really good book if that’s what you’re interested in.

And most importantly, this book adds to the increasing number of books that celebrate and share Indigenous knowledge for younger readers but also for older readers, who may have only ever had the chance to learn about it in generic terms and who want to know more. It engages with the culture and natural world inclusively and joyfully.