1. Animals
2. Country
3. Crocodiles
4. Desert animals
5. Endangered species
6. Endpapers
7. Glossaries and vocabularies
8. Goannas
9. Habitat
10. Indigenous knowledge
11. Indigenous languages
12. Lizards
13. Reptiles
14. Science
15. Snakes
16. Teaching
17. Turtles
18. Visual literacy

Australia is home to 14% of the world’s reptilian population and a number are deadly in the dangerous sense but as this book displays, they are all ‘deadly’ in being cool or awesome.

The book opens with endpapers showcasing coloured illustrations of a range of reptiles and an introduction giving background, inspiration and the Indigenous knowledge that forms the basis for the book. It presents information from twenty First Nations language groups about some of the unique reptiles found on their Country.

Each section opens with a brief broad description of the Country with Indigenous aspects and a map showing its geographical position in Australia. This is followed by detailed information on the selected reptile including its name in that Country’s language and why it is awesome. There is also ink stamp like illustrations with each reptile indicating whether they are venomous, non-venomous, endangered, vulnerable or ‘least concern’.

The colourful and detailed illustrations of each reptile are a fascinating highlight of the book. Some such as the endangered, venomous Yuga-Muga or Broad-headed snake are impressive in a deadly or cool way as well as being scary.

At the start there is a broad introduction to each reptile group that indicates where they may be spotted, threats from predators and from humans and ways they can be protected plus where to find further information. There is also a glossary at the back explaining the terminology used in the text and a QR code that can be scanned for a full list of resources.

This is an excellent book to use with many age groups and encourages engagement not just with some of Australia’s unique reptiles but with the depth and breadth of Indigenous knowledge.

Corey Tutt OAM is a Kamilaroi man with a deep love of STEM subjects. In 2018 he founded Deadly Science, a not-for-profit organisation that connects First Nations students with STEM subjects and provides scientific resources to remote schools in Australia. In 2020 he was named NSW Young Australian of the Year.

Illustrator Ben Williams is from the Kanturrpa clan, totem Milway of Warlmanpa Country in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.

1. Allen & Unwin ‘Caution! This book contains Deadly Reptiles’ by Corey Tutt and Ben Williams – includes a link to teaching notes https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Corey-Tutt,-illustrated-by-Ben-Williams-Caution!-This-Book-Contains-Deadly-Reptiles-9781761181030
2. ReadPlus 4 February 2025. Kathryn Beilby reviews ‘Caution! This book contains deadly reptiles’ https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/caution-this-book-contains-deadly-reptiles
3. The Book Muse 12 June 2025 Ashleigh Meikle reviews ‘Caution! This book contains deadly reptiles’ by Corey Tutt and Ben Williams https://ashleighmeikle.com.au/2025/06/12/caution-this-book-contains-deadly-reptiles-by-corey-tutt-illustrated-by-ben-williams/
4. Kids Non-Fiction Review: ‘Caution! This book contains Deadly Reptiles’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW-JX903cc4
5. National Geographic Kids ‘Corey Chat!’ Corey Tutt talks about ‘Caution! This book contains Deadly Reptiles’ https://www.natgeokids.com/au/kids-club/entertainment/books/caution-this-book-contains-deadly-reptiles/
6. Australian Museum 7 March 2019 ‘Reptiles’ https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/
7. The Reptiles of Australia Australian Reptile Lists by Families http://www.reptilesofaustralia.com/