MAIA: A Dinosaur Grows Up

by John R. & James Gorman Homer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 19, 1987

The everyday events and perils of growing up dinosaur--from hatching to maturity--are presented in this lavishly illustrated, appealing tale of a gentle duckbilled dinosaur. Unlike most dinosaurs, which abandoned their young, fossils unearthed in Montana in 1978 suggest that Maiasaura dinosaurs nurtured and protected their offspring, giving rise to the name ""good mother lizards."" Basing their story on the fossil findings, the authors re-create the world of 80 million years ago from the young dinosaur's perspective. There are occasional lapses into unnecessary bits of dinosaur psychology (""That wasn't because they were mean or cruel. It's just that they were dinosaurs"") and a minor anachronism when Maia sees a pack of red dinosaurs the size of wolves, creatures not yet present on the evolutionary scene. Dinosaur enthusiasts will relish both the story and the large, National Geographic-like illustrations.

Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Courage/Running Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S