From School Library Journal
Grade 2–5—Solid introductory information and strong visual appeal make this a fine choice for dinosaur fans. Crystal-clear photographs of models and artifacts fill every spread, in combinations of full scenes, spot images, and inset boxes. Paragraph-length captions supply most of the information, but there's a logical flow to the assortment of facts that makes the book suitable for reading as well as browsing. After providing general background about dinosaurs, chapters proceed chronologically through the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, highlighting selected species along the way. Closing sections cover other forms of prehistoric life, paleontology basics, and theories of dinosaur extinction. Various features encourage interaction and fact finding: see-also references are given in "Become an expert" insets; a question and its upside-down answer appear in a bar at the bottom of each spread; and "Curiosity quizzes" challenge readers to match visual clues cropped from larger illustrations. The text is clear, with enough intriguing facts to fascinate without overwhelming. Caption headings such as "weird or what?" and "Look at that claw!" contribute to the sense of fun and amazement that goes along with the research. Dinosaur size is usually noted within the text or with scale diagrams, though descriptions of some species, including Brachiosaurus and Spinosaurus, lack that key data. There's enough information here to serve as a useful first reference resource for curiosity or assignments, while the engaging illustrations and browsable format extend the book's appeal to much younger kids.—Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, OR
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
In lavishly illustrated DK style, this volume introduces young readers not only to dinosaurs but also to reference-book basics like cross-referencing and indexing. Chapters cover how dinosaurs lived, what kinds there were, and what might have happened to them. A final chapter on fossils brings paleontology to life. Though the book is designed as a "first" encyclopedia, older students will enjoy it, too. Buy copies to circulate as well as to house in the children's reference collection. Quinn, Mary Ellen
