Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Snake is elegant and calm, if a little self-centred: Lizard, on the other hand, is exuberant and irrepressible. With wisdom, acceptance and good humour, 'Snake and Lizard' captures the essence of friendship.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 4-This engaging chapter book from Australia tells of the humorous exploits of Snake and Lizard. They meet, quarrel, become friends, and then quarrel again; their delightful antics touchingly reveal the normal travails of an active friendship. The short chapters also impart bits of wisdom: it is good to share, and friends can like different things. In one particularly funny vignette, Snake is eating a frog when Lizard, who thinks that Snake is choking, slaps her on the back, and, of course, allows the frog to escape. Another entertaining story describes how the two friends each set up a business, and then trade the same dime back and forth buying corn cakes and cactus juice from one another. The charming illustrations are suffused with warm desert colors, and the evocative landscapes enhance the brief adventures. One endearing picture shows the red, black, and white striped snake and tan-colored lizard lying facing one another, their features expressively genial, as they "talked and talked as though they'd known each other for years." Lovely bookmaking includes small pictures interspersed with the large, bold font, some to the side of a decorative letter that begins the text of a chapter. A creamy white page with only a tiny picture of a primary story element precedes each chapter, and many of the creatures that inhabit the stories appear on the inside front and back cover pages. A great read-aloud.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

(Primary, Intermediate) Snake and Lizard were born to squabble. Lizard's insect diet disgusts Snake; Snake may once have eaten Lizard's own sweet little brother (one of ninety-seven). From their first encounter, when a napping Snake blocks Lizard's path, they bicker -- yet they've soon found so much common ground that they move in together. Neither is nocturnal; a bold nighttime excursion reveals the owl as a shared enemy. Exchanged confidences beget empathy (coaxed, Snake admits that she'd like to be a centipede. "'Why?' 'Legs,' said Snake"). Each argument begins in misunderstanding and ends in companionable accord; yet their disagreements spring so obviously from their natures, and their repartee is so comical -- snappy, ludicrous yet logical -- that the salutary message is absorbed with delight. The fifteen episodes range from very brief (Lizard pats Snake's back to relieve the "frog in her throat" only to be told, as it hops away, "That was my supper!") to more extensive (in "Self-help," they give several other desert animals advice). From full-page to vignette, Bishop's art (apparently pen-and-ink, with cheery watercolor added) enlivens almost every spread of this attractive small volume, capturing each interaction with wit and affection. Excellent as a read-aloud or an early read-alone. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

A sensitive snake and her lovable lizard companion enjoy a warm and touching relationship, shattering the stereotypes that commonly plague their cold-blooded species. The two become fast friends, first as housemates and later as business partners counseling fellow desert-dwellers on life and love. Cowley carves developed characters through concise dialogue, as Snake often balances her primal reptilian instincts against her shy disposition, creating witty moments within each chapter. Snake did, after all, eat one of Lizard's 97 siblings in her past: "Lizard was right," she reflects. "The little guy had been real sweet." She shudders, however, at the thought of addressing a baby rattler. "You know all about snakes. It's your cousin!" protests Lizard. "Some cousins I don't speak to," Snake exclaims. Bishop's rich watercolor-and-pen illustrations complement the story, often portraying Lizard upright next to slithering Snake. His contained lines and splashes of color breathe air into the setting's dry surroundings. The New Zealand author-and-illustrator team solidly develops this pair's formidable friendship under the scorching desert sun. (Fiction. 7-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.