Meet a selection of the intriguing lizards that once walked the Earth in this introductory primer for preschool paleontologists.
Another in the series of Hello, World! science-for-toddlers books, this volume presents, in very simple form, a few basic concepts about the study of dinosaurs via their fossilized remains. The first four pages introduce the idea that scientists find the bones of long-gone dinosaurs in the ground, reassemble them, and display the completed skeletons in museums. A white female paleontologist and a brown-skinned male colleague use an assortment of simple tools to extract bones from layers of earth and sediment. A roundup of a fair sampling of dinos, presented in a series of informative, easily digested two-page spreads, fills out the balance of the book. The artwork features a broad palette of bright colors, but the blocky and crudely representational figures, though easily read, have an almost South Park quality. The dinosaurs depicted have goofy, nonthreatening smiles and awkward, oddly jointed limbs, so the scenes lack the primordial majesty that a more lifelike rendering would convey. In all, the book presents eight different dinosaurs and a few fun facts about each, covering eating habits (plants? meat?), armor, teeth, height, etc.
A decent conversation starter for the youngest dinosaur enthusiasts. (Board book. 2-6)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1934-0
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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Colorful, fun, and informative guide for pint-sized dinosaur enthusiasts.
Kid-friendly and more informative than most dino books for tots, this lift-the-flap dinosaur book is a great next step for any kid with an interest in the subject. Each double-page panorama—occasionally folding out to three or even four pages wide—is organized around types of dinosaurs or habitats. While most featured dinosaurs are land dwellers, prehistoric reptiles of the sea and sky appear as well. Dinosaurs are rendered in bright colors on a white background in a childlike style that makes even Tyrannosaurus rex not too terrifying. Make no mistake, though; the king of the dinosaurs is clearly labeled “CARNIVORE.” Folding T. rex’s head back reveals a black-and-white handsaw, to which the text likens its enormous, sharp teeth. Another marginal illustration, captioned, “Watch out! T. rex is looking for its lunch,” shows a Triceratops specimen on a plate. Yet another reads, “Crushed dinosaur bones have been found in T. rex poop!” Several racially diverse kids appear in each scene, like toddler scientists variously observing, inspecting, and riding on the dinosaurs depicted. In addition to teaching the difference between herbivores and carnivores, the book also conveys a sense of the scale of these prehistoric beasts: Diplodocus is two school buses long, a Triceratops adult is the size of an elephant, and a Velociraptor is the size of a turkey, for example.
Sure to appeal to budding paleontologists everywhere. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0809-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
Meet five different dinosaurs in this pet-carrier–shaped board book, and picture them as playmates.
Baby Diplodocus and the rest of “the dinosaur gang,” which also includes babies Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Edmontonia, and, of course, Tyrannosaurus rex, come by to play ball; give piggyback rides; thump, stomp, and splash; and camp out in a tent. There is a phonetic pronunciation guide to help caregivers and kids learn to say the name of each one. The dinosaurs are the best thing about this book. Each one is rendered in 3-D, Pixar-style graphics, with nonthreatening, anthropomorphic features and very expressive faces. While robbed of their scale and destructive majesty, these baby dinosaurs are undeniably charming. Most of the book consists of double-page set pieces featuring the dinosaurs against a two-dimensional, cartoon background, with a smattering of photorealistic balls and stuffed animals thrown in for good measure. The text is innocuous but uninspiring, and although the lines are rhymed, the meter is awkward. Words such as “super-cool” and “awesome” feel like bro-speak and needlessly pander; children of board-book age already think their caregivers are cool. Readers young and old may not necessarily recognize the die-cut cover as a pet carrier, but the handle does encourage children to carry the book around, which may promote reading.
Not a must for dinosaur purists but harmless enough. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5956-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES
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