Bite, Sting, Kill: The Incredible Science of Toxins, Venom, Fangs, and Stingers

by Julie Beer

Explore the animal kingdom like never before in this thrilling roundup of animals that bite, sting … and kill.

A venomous lizard the size of a car. A snake that can take down an elephant. A stealthy scorpion ready to strike. Sound like the makings of the ultimate thriller movie? It’s real life. And that’s just the beginning.

Discover how the bites and stings of black mambas, Komodo dragons, king cobras, black widow spiders, Gila monsters, pit vipers, rattlesnakes, scorpions, and more spell certain doom for their prey. Dig deeper into topics such as how fangs work, how antivenoms are developed, what snake milkers do, and the surprising ways venom can actually help humans.

Unbelievable photography and lively text bring readers up close and personal to the spine-tingling action. You’ll never look at animals the same way again.

Discover more amazing animals with these other National Geographic Kids

Ick! Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses by Melissa Stewart

Beastly Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature by Jennifer Swanson

Animal And Other Bloodsucking Beasts, Creepy Creatures, and Real-Life Monsters by Chana Stiefel

Chomp! Fierce Facts About the BITE FORCE, CRUSHING JAWS, and MIGHTY TEETH of Earth's Champion Chewers by Brady Barr

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

112 pages, Hardcover

Published February 21, 2023

Reviews

[The Keepers of the Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

In nature, there are creatures all over the world that can kill people with their drool, their venom, or their sting. Like the Black Mamba, who is the world’s deadliest snake, because it can bite repeatedly. Komodo Dragons are giant lizards who can cause massive bleeding. The bullet ant is the most painful insect, because they release a neurotoxic venom that keeps attackers form being able to move. This book covers these animals and much more.

The layout is well-done, colorful, and eye-catching. The text is informative and interesting. The highlighting of the most dangerous facts adds a level of fun and excitement to the text. Fans of National Geographic, deadly creature non-fiction, and science will want to pick this one up.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given to us in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are our own. No other compensations was received.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broken down into sections: reptiles, serious stingers (bees, spiders, scorpions, mosquitos, etc), sea creatures, and deadly mammals, this book has all the facts and science info along with stunning full color photos that you could ever wish for about the creatures that bite, stink, and kill. Not for the squeamish (I had to rush past the pages about snakes!), there is lots to learn about toxins, venom, fangs, and stingers. This book will help separate fact from fiction and destroy some of those myths that have hung around for far too long. Back matter includes photo credits and index - as well as just a few wacky facts about some of these amazing creatures.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy crawlies? Check. Blood? Check. Danger? Check. "Bite, Sting, Kill: The Incredible Science of Toxins, Venom, Fangs, and Stingers" is the perfect nonfiction book for kids and adults alike who love the dangerous parts of nature. Nat Geo Kids is always structured in a way that kids can self-navigate, and this text is no different. My favorite part of this is the amount of large, full color photographs that zoom in on bites, venom, fangs, and scales. I can think of a dozen students off the top of my head who would be fighting over checking this out in my library!

[Jordan Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very educational. And it helped my son on a school project. One of the bugs he had to talk about was in this book and he used it as a source of information and display to pass around during his presentation.

[Ms. B]

I skimmed this one to see what the layout was. It reminded me of DK's Eyewitness books that were popular in the 1990s with their browsable pages, bright colorful photos and fact boxes throughout. Give this to tweens and young teens who are looking for browsable nonfiction.

[Tiffany Hough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for young (and older!) animal lovers.

[PottWab Regional Library]

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