From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4–Informational tidbits appear alongside exquisitely designed pop-up constructions in this visually stunning overview of all things dinosaur. Each spread features a spectacular paper sculpture of a particular species (e.g., Ankylosaurus or Triceratops) along with a brief paragraph of text. Smaller foldout sections, which open like miniature books and also incorporate pop-ups, cover additional topics (Dinosaur Detectives and Mystery Extinction) and introduce other dinosaurs and their characteristics. Rendered in warm earth tones and speckled with splashes of color, the three-dimensional creatures move with a life of their own as they gracefully extend their bodies into a full stretch or lurch toward readers with jaws open wide. Be forewarned: the book is so enticing that children will find it impossible to keep their hands off it, possibly causing problems with the delicate pop-ups.–Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist
K-Gr. 3. With Sabuda lending deft paper engineering to artwork rendered by Reinhart, who also wrote this book's text, the Mesozoic's major players leap into three dimensions. Pop-ups featured on the six spreads include a gargantuan brachiosaurus; an anklyosaurus studded with paper spikes; and, perhaps most impressive from a technical standpoint, a minutely detailed T. rex skeleton. Each spread also contains as many as four foldout minibooks, bristling with their own tiny pops. The brief paragraphs of text never go much beyond cute sound bites ("Was It a Can Opener?" asks one headline, referring to the einosaurus' hooked nose horn), and the abstract, textured style in which the pop elements are painted may frustrate some children's efforts to imagine how the oddly angled assemblages translate into real beasts. Information about whether the bold color schemes spring from fact or simple aesthetics would have been a plus. Will these problems prevent this from being gobbled up as voraciously as one spread's allosaurus tucks into a lump of dino flesh? Not on your life. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
