A big book of dinosaurs for young enthusiasts that’s most notable for colorful drawings of dinosaurs on every page. Arranging her information by topic, the author briefly discusses what a dinosaur is, how we know about them, how they lived, what the major groups are, concluding with possible reasons for their extinction. She explains that all dinosaurs had some things in common: they laid eggs with shells; they lived on land; and none could fly. But she makes no mention of the warm-blooded/cold-blooded controversy, nor does she mention that dinosaurs had scales. She describes familiar meat-eaters like Tyrannosaurus rex, giant plant-eaters like Brachiosaurus, armored dinosaurs like Ankylosaurous, horned ones like Triceratops, and the fierce small predators like Deinonychus. Cutaway drawings show the skeleton and internal organs of a plant-eater and the embryo in a dinosaur egg. Photo inserts show the serrated teeth of T. rex and bony neck frill of Triceratops. “Look Closer” inserts focus attention on interesting details. Size information is not given consistently, though the drawings in the section on size include a human for scale. Browsing through the pages, readers will sense that they’ve seen this all before, but budding dinosaur enthusiasts will still enjoy the arrangement. Added treats include a dinosaur quiz and some activities to do at home. (glossary, name pronunciation guide, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2002
ISBN: 0-19-521847-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
The utterly winsome Sammy (and his crabby, TV-narcotized sister) is featured in a fine little story from Whybrow (The Snow King, p. 806, etc.) about the pleasures of friends who happen to be of a different species. Up in the attic with his grandmother, Sammy comes across a box full of old dinosaur toys. He shuttles the box downstairs, doctors the dinosaurs that need doctoring, bathes and buffs them all, and then, next day, trundles to the library to discover their names. While this is going on, captured in handsome pen-and-wash artwork, the beasts shuffle about, but only to Sammy’s knowledge. When every one of them is properly bestowed with a name—anchisaurus, brontosaurus, scelidosaurus, etc.—the dinosaurs say, ‘’ ‘Thank you, Sammy.’ They said it very quietly, but just loud enough for Sammy to hear.” Now fast friends, they nonetheless become separated when Sammy inadvertently leaves them on the train. Sammy is deeply unhappy; he inquires after them at the station, but the “Lost and Found” man says, “How do we know they are your dinosaurs?” A blind-identification test confirms that fact: ‘’ ‘All correct!’ said the man. ‘These are definitely your dinosaurs! Definitely!’ ‘’ Quietly, the dinosaurs concur: ‘’ ‘You’re definitely our Sammy. Definitely!’ ‘’ This is a beautiful, cheering story full of offbeat charm. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30207-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
Washburn’s illustrations take a nonthreatening to the subject, casting the rosy-toned dinosaurs as friendly rather than...
A highly accessible entry in the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science series that takes a look at baby dinosaurs, primarily maiasaurs and oviraptors.
Zoehfeld (How Mountains are Made, 1995, etc.) explains how the current information on the peaceful, lizard-like dinosaurs who sipped from streams over 70 million years ago has been extrapolated from fossils, and that the rest is surmised from studying reptile and bird behavior and habits, which provide scientists with clues as to the nesting, nurturing of, and lives of baby dinosaurs. Hatching from small, oval eggs, the newborns ate berries while one member guarded the nest from meat-eating, nest-raiding predators. The author speculates as to the role of fossilized plants that covered the eggs of the maiasaurs and what the discovery of oviraptor skeletons may reveal about the feeding of the young.
Washburn’s illustrations take a nonthreatening to the subject, casting the rosy-toned dinosaurs as friendly rather than imposing. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027141-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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