The Big Book of Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

by Angela Wilkes (Author)
Key Phrases: plant eater

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Everything about The Big Book of Dinosaurs is off the charts--the size of the book itself, the elaborate two-page spreads, the color models, and even the oversized type. Children can experience the amazing powers of these prehistoric beasts--the jagged teeth of the ferocious meat eaters, the slashing claws of the Deinonychus, and the long-necked Barosaurus that could reach five-story-high treetops and may have had eight hearts. Yet, like the dinosaurs themselves, there is nothing threatening or intimidating about this highly informative book. The text is brief and succinct, only conveying facts that children find interesting. (There's even an index for quick searches of favorite dinos.) The lifelike illustrations give young readers a solid sense of what dinosaur fossils and skeletal systems look like as well as clear mental pictures of how these creatures appeared in "real-life" millions of years ago. (Ages 4 to 7) --Gail Hudson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3?One can't miss this book, not only because its gigantic, but also because it's gorgeous. The full-color photos of dinosaur replicas look so real that youngsters can almost count the scales on the backs of these beasts. The format?lots of pictures with short, quick captions?makes it a perfect read-aloud for young children, or a browsing item for older kids who want good illustrations with little text. There's not enough information for reports on individual species, but Wilkes does provide a good overview of how dinosaurs lived, camouflaged themselves, found their food, and generally survived. A great array of dinos that enhances the believability of these photogenic models.?Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590243713
• ISBN-13: 978-0590243711
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,010,327 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything your preschooler wants to know about dinosaurs, June 3, 2004

By	JLind555 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Book of Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

Just like dinosaurs themselves, this book is BIG -- big type, big format, big pictures. The kids will love it. What preschooler doesn't love dinosaurs? One trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City had my son, at age three and a half, talking a blue streak about stegosauruses, elasmosauruses, tyrannosauruses, and Heaven knows what else. "The Big Book of Dinosaurs" is organized into categories such as meat-eaters, boneheads (pachycephalosaurus and his ilk) and gargantuans such as brontosaurus. The double-page spreads with gorgeously illustrated dinosaurs are sure to hold a child's attention, and the text is succint and easy for them to understand. It's a great read-aloud book for the preschool to first grade set. There's a very good index at the end of the book with proper pronunciations of all the dinosaur names that will have your preschool paleontologist rattling them off like a pro. Highly recommended for all children between three and six.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good first book but not for the very young..., April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Book of Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully illustrated book with lots of great pictures. The pages include lots of facts about dinosaurs and show pictures of both very live looking dino's as well as their skeletons. It is a good book to continue a child's interest in the subject. The end of the book includes a index with name pronunciations (very handy!). Some of the pictures are a little "too realistic" for the younger set. All in all, a great starter book for my 5 year old's interest in dinosaurs.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Despite the fact that it's designed for..., October 5, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Big Book of Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

...very young kids, it's interesting for older kids, too. I found this book nice and neat with lots of pictures. I wondered how DK produced such photo-realistic for a long time till I found out - they used models. I highly recomend this for young children especially!