Bashful Ball Pythons

K-Gr 2—This series is an odd melding of fact with fiction. The books begin with five spreads of basic information about the featured pet, followed by an eight-page illustrated story in rhyme. The simple texts are accessible to beginning readers, but there is little here for researchers who want to know how to feed, house, and take care of these animals. The stories, which sometimes add humor, feature multicultural children and their pets but don't provide additional facts. The stock photos clearly show the creatures, though often their owners (mentioned in the text) are not in view. Each title also contains a page of "Fun Facts," a quiz, and a note cautioning readers to further research the needs of unusual animals before bringing one home. PowerKids's "Classroom Pets" series (2007) covers some of the same creatures in more detail, though it is at a higher reading level.