Irwin, Steve & Terri. The crocodile hunter.

Penguin Putnam, New American Library. 202p. illus. c1997. 0-451-20673-8. $15.00.

Crikey, now the entire family can enjoy the story of Steve and Terri Irwin, best known for their TV show The Crocodile Hunter. Steve writes just the way he talks on the show--fast, passionately, and 'stralian. Bob and Lyn Irwin, Steve's parents, were naturalists and herpetologists who started in a small way with a fauna park. On his sixth birthday Steve received a 12-foot python (but was not allowed to play with it). From these early beginnings Steve developed a fierce, protective love for all creatures great and small. He learned early which animals were poisonous and how to leap out of a small boat in the dark onto the back of a crocodile to capture it.

Terri, who first visited Australia with a friend in the early nineties, writes chapters six through nine. At the time she was paying off a house, running the family business and a wildlife rehab facility, and working part time at an emergency veterinary hospital. But when she got to the Glasshouse Mountains and the Reptile and Fauna Park. it was love at first sight. Steve and Terri married and together run Australia Zoo. Their daughter Bindi Sue was born with no fear of animals. Among the dozens of color photos is a charming one of Bindi looking lovingly into the eyes of a snake, her favorite creature.

The book is exciting to read, as both authors write as they speak, bringing their adventures vividly to life. Their passion to preserve wildlife is evident. A great read for the entire family. Janet Julian, Grafton, MA