What's New at the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

A fearless little girl takes off in search of a giant gatorbut shes not going into that swamp alone! No way! She wants YOU, the reader, to come along. Off you go, peering through the lush landscapes, looking for that gator! But each time you think you see it? Oops! Just a fox. Or some ducks! Or a snake. Maybe youll never find the gator, gator, gator...With stunning illustrations from Sendak Fellow Frann Preston-Gannon, readers experience the feeling of being on a real adventure deep in the swamp. Rhyming, repeating, and exhilarating, the text is a delightful read-aloud romp that will entertain and make everyones heart skip a beat!

From the lowcountry coastal tidelands to the upstate Blue Ridge Mountains and everywhere in between, South Carolina's varied landscapes and habitats are home to a fascinating and mysterious assortment of alligators, turtles, lizards, and snakes. The Reptiles of South Carolina, a comprehensive, illustrated guide to the Palmetto State, includes seventy-five native species of reptiles as well as introduced forms. Jeffrey D. Camper's accessible descriptions and intriguing details are designed to enlighten readers about this misunderstood and often-maligned group of secretive and ecologically important animals. Camper begins with a discussion of the state's mild climate and wide variety of natural habitats, including forests, plains, sandhills, wetlands, and barrier islands. The entry for each species provides a color picture, detailed descriptions of external appearance, variations in size and color, taxonomic keys, comparisons to similar species to aid in identification, and natural history. Camper also assesses the conservation status of each species and offers a detailed range map of where that species is known to occur in the state and another map showing its entire geographic range in the continental United States.

Young readers learn about snapping turtles, including their commonly aggressive nature and the differences between the common snapper and the alligator snappers.

After Little Turtle notices that colors are disappearing from the reefs and strange objects are floating in the water of her beloved ocean, she encounters figures who appear to be tending to the reefs and cleaning up the garbage.

There are reptiles everywhere! Pull on your boots and get ready to track down some reptiles. Follow geckos through the Madagascan jungle, take a stroll down to the beach to watch baby turtles hatch, and be ready to scramble up a tree if you catch sight of a Komodo dragon. The amazing world of reptiles is full of surprises.

Introduces crocodiles, discussing the three different families of crocodilians, their physical characteristics, where they live, what they eat, and how they take care of their young.

Featuring colorful, comic-style artwork, an introduction to parrots is presented through humorous text complemented by engaging facts, from how parrots see ultraviolet light to how they can identify colors in human language.

From the creator of the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher and his diving partner comes a best-in-class photographic picture book about the wonders of the sea. Here's an ode to the mysteries of the ocean, the animals who share our planet, and the healing power of nature from the Oscar-winning creator of the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher and his diving partner. This meditation on the treasures to be found in the Great African Sea Forest introduces the many wonders of an environment that always surprises--from the tiniest sea snails to the shapeshifting octopus to the gently singing whales. Illustrated with gorgeous underwater photography of the fascinating creatures and places most of us will never witness firsthand, this picture book is a window into another world and all it has to share with us.

What snake eats other snakes? Do turtles have teeth? How do crocodiles keep their brains cool? Would you want to meet a 300-pound lizard? Reptiles have some amazing traits.

A mischievous chameleon enjoys playing tricks on the other animals, until Frog turns the tables.

"When a boy encounters and alligator while hiking in the woods, he immediately jumps back and cries, "AAAlligator!". But he soon realizes the alligator needs his help, so he bravely steps up, even though he is afraid. His good deed done, he heads home, thinking that was the end of that. But later that evening, he hears a rustling outside his window -- the alligator! Waiting ... but not in a hungry way. Over time, the boy and the alligator become friends -- and one day, they venture into town. "AAAlligator! AAAlligator!" the townspeople cry. Everyone is very upset -- especially the mayor, who makes an official proclamation: "NO ALLIGATORS, blah, blah, blah." The boy and the alligator are forced to go home. That night, a crowd gathers outside the boy's door, led by the mayor. The alligator has to go, the mayor tells the boy. The boy asks the crowd to consider the alligator, who is friendly, and helpful, and hungry, and lonely ... It's food for thought. The townspeople talk it over. But the mayor insists, "NO ALLIGATORS!" The townspeople disperse. "Silly proclamation" ... "He hasn't even eaten anyone yet!" ... "It's not fair." The boy is worried. What's going to happen to the alligator? But then, to his surprise, the townspeople start secretly bringing their leftovers to feed the alligator -- and over time, the alligator becomes part of their community. The townspeople elect a new mayor, who writes a new proclamation, and everyone lives happily ever after ... proving that sometimes you just have to break the rules!"-- Provided by publisher.

Introduces anacondas and their world, including their physical features and behaviors.

"Carefully leveled text and vibrant photographs introduce beginning readers to the world of coral snakes. Includes picture glossary and index."-- Provided by publisher.

"Carefully leveled text and vibrant photographs introduce beginning readers to the world of death adders. Includes picture glossary and index."-- Provided by publisher.

The boomslang snake is shy and not aggressive, but one bite from this highly venomous creature leads to a horrible death. This books describes how the poison affects its victims, where this large snake lives, how it hunts and hides, and why it wasn t considered dangerous to humans until one unfortunate incident.

"An octopus is taken from his undersea home to live in an aquarium, but he soon tires of captive life"-- Provided by publisher.

"Live the lizard life by exploring the behaviors of 28 different types of lizards. Imagine swooping through the air, curling into a circle, and even running across water!"-- Jacket flap.

Oliver the tortoise looks back on his happy life as he wonders why his pet human, Ike, who he has had for eighty years, has stopped visiting the garden.

"A nonfiction picture book about Claude the albino alligator at the California Academy of Sciences"-- Provided by publisher.

"Provides comprehensive information on chameleons and explains how and why they change color"--Provided by publisher.

"Learn about different types of reptiles and what they have in common"-- Provided by publisher.