Stop! there's a snake in your suitcase by Adam Frost

Ill. by Mark Chambers. Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 9781 4088 2706 2.
(Ages: 8+) Early novel. Animals. The second in the series, Zoo Story, this amiable tale introduces the readers to all sort of information about snakes, how to care for them, what they eat, why people like them and keep them as pets. Sophie and Tom Nightingale are the children of parents who work in the London Zoo, and so have access to all sorts of information and are also vitally interested in all animals. When a scruffy looking man approaches on his barge and tried to sell them some snakes, they are instantly alerted by his appearance as well as the poor condition of the snakes. Grandpa realises that they may be illegally imported snakes, and so they ring the police.
Following the culprit along the river to the zoo, the children notice the man throws out some pillowcases that move, and opening one, get more than they bargained for.
This series offers pleasant stories which are more the vehicle for telling lots of information about animals and the zoo, although the facts are incorporated very neatly into the story. Sophie and Tom are likable characters, living a life many animal lovers would love to emulate, on a barge/houseboat moored near the London Zoo where the parents work.
Fran Knight