Books About Snakes for Kids: 38 Engaging Titles

Looking for the perfect way to spark curiosity about reptiles? From books about snakes packed with fun facts to engaging snake kindergarten activities, there are so many creative ways to start teaching kids about snakes. As a classroom teacher turned school librarian, I’ve enjoyed matching books with kids for many years. Whether you’re after toddler books, a reptile book for kindergarten, or simply want to add more animal activities for kids to your lesson plans, this list of books for kids is full of exciting reads. These kids books aren’t just books about animals, they’re tools for snake reading, snake themed activities, and educational snake activities for kids that make learning about reptiles fun. If you’ve ever wondered how to teach reptiles to kids, these resources on snakes for kids and snake facts for kids are the perfect place to start!

Books About Snakes for Toddlers

Toddlers are drawn to books with bright, bold pictures, simple text, and playful language. They enjoy stories that introduce animals in a fun, approachable way, often with repetition, humor, or gentle surprises to keep them engaged.

Here are some snake books for toddlers:

Slither, Snake! (National Geographic Kids Readers, Pre-Reader) by Shelby Alinsky: A nonfiction pre-reader that introduces toddlers to snakes with simple sentences and colorful photos, making learning about these animals fun and accessible.

Oh No! There’s a Snake in the Lake by Adam Ellison: A playful story with gentle suspense, featuring a surprise snake in a familiar setting, designed to entertain and engage young children.

Snakes For Toddlers (Favorite Toddler Animal Books) by tryitsisterseducation: A beginner-friendly introduction to snakes, using simple language and illustrations toddlers can easily understand and enjoy.

Books About Snakes for Preschool

Preschoolers enjoy books with clear pictures, simple text, and engaging facts they can easily understand. They are drawn to animals, playful language, and interactive or relatable content that sparks curiosity about the natural world.

Here are some excellent snake books for preschoolers:

Snakes (Tadpole Books: My First Animal Books) by Natalie Deniston: An early nonfiction reader that introduces preschoolers to snakes, highlighting their appearance, habitats, and basic behaviors with simple text and colorful images.

Snakes Are Hunters (Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science: Level 2) by Patricia Lauber: Explains how snakes hunt and catch prey in a clear, accessible way, combining science facts with engaging illustrations for young learners.

Welcome to the World of Snakes by Diane Swanson: A beginner-friendly introduction to snakes, covering their diversity, habitats, and behaviors in a way that encourages curiosity and exploration.

Books About Snakes for Kindergarten

Kindergartners enjoy books with clear, simple text, bright illustrations, and organized facts that are easy to follow. They are drawn to animals, especially those with striking features or unusual behaviors, and like books that mix learning with engaging visuals and fun details.

Here are some engaging snake books for kindergarteners:

Snakes by Gail Gibbons: A nonfiction introduction to snakes that explores their habitats, anatomy, and behaviors, using clear text and illustrations to make the information accessible for young readers.

Bush Vipers (Blastoff! Readers Level 2: Slithering Snakes) by Joanne Mattern: Focuses on bush vipers, highlighting their appearance, habitats, and unique behaviors in a way that is easy for beginning readers to understand.

Pythons (Blastoff! Readers Level 2: Slithering Snakes) by Joanne Mattern: Introduces pythons, explaining their size, hunting techniques, and habitats with simple text and engaging photos.

Rat Snakes (Blastoff! Readers Level 2: Slithering Snakes) by Joanne Mattern: Presents rat snakes’ characteristics, behaviors, and habitats, using kid-friendly language and illustrations to make the facts clear.

Sea Snakes (Blastoff! Readers Level 2: Slithering Snakes) by Joanne Mattern: Explores sea snakes, describing how they live, hunt, and survive in aquatic environments, with accessible text and visuals for young readers.

Books About Snakes for 1st Grade

First graders enjoy books that combine fun storytelling with interesting facts. They are drawn to animals with exciting features, books with colorful illustrations, and text that is clear, engaging, and easy to read independently or with help.

Here are some informative snake books for first graders:

Fly Guy Presents: Snakes by Tedd Arnold: A humorous and informative nonfiction book featuring Fly Guy, introducing young readers to different types of snakes and their habits in a fun, kid-friendly way.

Anaconda: The Largest Snake on Earth (Slithering Snakes) by Natalie Humphrey: Explains facts about the giant anaconda, including its size, habitat, and hunting strategies, written for beginning readers.

Boa Constrictors (Snakes (ABDO)) by Julie Murray: A nonfiction introduction to boa constrictors, covering their appearance, behaviors, and habitats in clear, accessible text for young readers.

Corn Snakes (Snakes (ABDO)) by Julie Murray: Introduces corn snakes, explaining their habitats, diet, and characteristics with kid-friendly illustrations and text.

Eyelash Vipers (Snakes (ABDO)) by Julie Murray: Highlights the unique features and behaviors of eyelash vipers, including their appearance and hunting techniques, in simple language.

Green Tree Pythons (Snakes (ABDO)) by Julie Murray: Focuses on green tree pythons, describing their bright colors, arboreal habits, and survival strategies for beginning readers.

Milk Snakes (Snakes (ABDO)) by Julie Murray: Provides facts about milk snakes, including their patterns, diet, and habitats, with clear text and engaging visuals.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Snakes (ABDO)) by Julie Murray: Introduces young readers to western diamondback rattlesnakes, explaining their rattling behavior, habitats, and other interesting traits.

Books About Snakes for 2nd Grade

Second graders enjoy books that combine fascinating facts with clear explanations and engaging visuals. They like learning about unusual behaviors, unique features, and real-world connections, especially when the information is organized in a way that’s easy to follow and fun to explore.

Here are some curiosity-inspiring snake books for second graders:

Anaconda (Super Snakes) by Murray Tapeta: Introduces young readers to the giant anaconda, covering its size, habitat, hunting techniques, and other interesting facts.

Boa Constrictor (Super Snakes) by Murray Tapeta: Explores the life of boa constrictors, including how they hunt, their habitats, and their physical characteristics.

Cobra (Super Snakes) by Murray Tapeta: Provides information about cobras, highlighting their venom, defensive behaviors, and habitats in an age-appropriate way.

Coral Snake (Super Snakes) by Murray Tapeta: Focuses on coral snakes, explaining their bright coloring, venomous nature, and unique survival strategies.

Python (Super Snakes) by Murray Tapeta: Describes pythons’ hunting methods, habitats, and adaptations, giving second graders a clear understanding of these large constrictor snakes.

Rattlesnake (Super Snakes) by Murray Tapeta: Introduces rattlesnakes, emphasizing their distinctive rattle, behaviors, and habitats, along with other fun facts.

Can Snakes Predict Earthquakes? : Discover the Science Behind Ophiology (Big Questions Answered) by Eliza Jeffery: Explores the intriguing question of whether snakes can sense natural disasters, blending science facts with real-world observations for curious young readers.

Books About Snakes for 3rd Grade

Third graders enjoy books that provide more detailed information while still being engaging and accessible. They like learning about life cycles, behaviors, and unique traits of animals, especially when paired with strong visuals, interesting facts, and stories that spark curiosity.

Here are some captivating snake books for third graders:

Snakes (Genius Kid: Animal Kingdom) by Rebecca Phillips-Bartlett: A nonfiction book introducing readers to a variety of snake species, their habitats, and behaviors, with clear text and vivid illustrations.

The Life Cycle of a Snake (Life Cycle (Crabtree)) by John Crossingham: Explains the stages of a snake’s life, from egg to adult, using simple language and supporting visuals that make the process easy to understand.

Snakes Play Tricks! (Animal Tricksters) by Jennifer Lombardo: Highlights clever and surprising behaviors of snakes, showing how they use their skills to hunt, hide, and survive.

Nic Bishop Snakes by Nic Bishop: A visually stunning nonfiction book featuring close-up photographs and fascinating facts about snakes, helping readers explore their anatomy, behavior, and diversity. A classic favorite!

Books About Snakes for 4th Grade

Fourth graders enjoy books that combine detailed facts with engaging visuals and storytelling. They are drawn to books that explore fascinating or “extreme” animal behaviors, challenge common myths, and provide surprising information that keeps them curious and engaged.

Here are some attention-grabbing snake books for fourth graders:

Deadly Snakes (World’s Scariest Creatures): A nonfiction book that introduces readers to some of the most venomous and dangerous snakes, highlighting their hunting methods, habitats, and adaptations.

Snakes by Julianna Photopoulos: Provides an overview of various snake species, their behaviors, habitats, and unique characteristics, using clear text and engaging visuals.

Snakes (Xtreme Predators) by Sue L. Hamilton: Focuses on snakes as predators, describing their hunting strategies, physical adaptations, and survival skills in a dramatic, attention-grabbing format.

The Book of Snakes by Brian Williams: A comprehensive guide to snakes that includes detailed information on species diversity, habitats, and behavior, aimed at engaging young readers with both facts and visuals.

Books About Snakes for 5th Grade

Fifth graders enjoy books that combine in-depth facts with hands-on activities or real-world connections. They are drawn to books that explore animal behavior, adaptations, and ecosystems in detail, especially when the content is interactive, challenging, or presented in a way that encourages critical thinking.

Here are some enthralling snake books for fifth graders:

How Snakes and Other Reptiles Attack (Predator vs. Prey) by Tim Harris: Explores the hunting strategies of snakes and other reptiles, showing how predators catch prey and survive in the wild.

Awesome Snake Science: 40 Activities for Learning About Snakes by Cindy Blobaum: A hands-on guide with experiments, games, and activities that teach readers about snakes’ biology, behavior, and habitats.

Snake Bite (Crabtree Contact: Level 1) by Tom Jackson: An accessible nonfiction book explaining snake bites, safety tips, and the behavior of venomous snakes for young readers.

Snakes (Living Wild) by Teresa Wimmer: A nonfiction overview of snakes, detailing their habitats, physical adaptations, and behaviors, with engaging photos and illustrations for upper elementary readers.

Play Snake Bingo

Help students learn baby elephant vocabulary terms by playing Snake Bingo. This free virtual bingo template may be played using Google Slides. This activity can be part of a nature study unit. Make your own copy, then replace the free images and words with snake images and vocabulary, then reuse the template as many times as you like.

It’s fully customizable when you make your own copy and includes a teacher page, too!

Get my free virtual bingo board!

More Resources for Readers

The best way to encourage a love of reading is to provide kids with many opportunities to engage with a wide variety of books that are of interest to them. At Book and Tech Tips I want to make it easy for you to find great books kids will love. Over the years I’ve also discovered some helpful tools for connecting kids, adults, and books.

Online digital libraries are one very handy way to do this. Epic! is one of our favorite online libraries. It’s full of over 25,000 books, learning videos, quizzes and more for kids 12 and under…and it’s free for educators. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Another great free digital library is ReadingIQ. It’s also free for educators and has a wide selection of titles.

If you download the free Libby app, you can access many digital audiobooks from your public library. Audiobooks are perfect for car trips!

Looking for a book that is out of print? Try searching Thriftbooks online. There are over 13 million titles available.

Looking for More Book Ideas?

If you enjoyed this list of snake books, you might like these book lists as well:

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy reading books about snakes!

Lisa Mitchell is a former classroom teacher, now a school librarian, who likes to use her job as an excuse to stay up far too late reading books and noodling around with tech tools. To learn more about what this website has to offer, click on over to the About page.