Dinosaur Days (Step into Reading, Step 3) [Paperback]

Joyce Milton (Author), Richard Roe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 1985 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Step into Reading

Illus. in full color. Difficult dinosaur names are simplified with phonics.  

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An easy, well-structured treatment of an eternally hot topic, this is a likely choice for beginning readers."--Kirkus.

From the Inside Flap

Illus. in full color. Difficult dinosaur names are simplified with phonics.  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (April 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394870239
• ISBN-13: 978-0394870236
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Dinosaurs > Nonfiction
  • #64 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Dinosaurs > Fiction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Major scientific errors! Terrible!, April 30, 2003

By 

Dave in Hagerstown "oriolesfan61" (Hagerstown, MD, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaur Days (Step into Reading, Step 3) (Paperback)

This is a classic book for young readers and I had thought it would be accurate on the level of the readers. I looked back at a copy with a publishing date of 1985 and I was shocked when I saw the apatasaurus called the old, incorrect name of "brontosaurus." But that was not the worst error! Many older books have the name wrong 9and thus the wrong head, but that can be a minor thing.
But it got worse when it showed the "brontosaurus" as having nostrils on top of its head, which is actually a feature of the Brachiasaurus. And then having it hid from the Allosaurus (correct predator, at least) under water perpetuates the swamp-dwelling, water-immersing behavior model which is again incorrect.
If only those offending pages could be excised it would get four or five stars. The book does show the flying and swimming contemporaries of the dinosaurs; correctly identifying them as not being "dinosaurs." That could be more explicit but the point is made, even if subtly.

Now I see above there is a new publishing date. I hope the offending passage has been corrected. Then it would be a solid four-star book.

1.0 out of 5 stars poorly written and horribly inaccurate - skip this dinosaur reader, April 6, 2011

By 

C. Johnson "freedom isn't dumb" (maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dinosaur Days (Step into Reading, Step 3) (Paperback)

this reader seemed like a no-brainer for my boys who love dinosaurs and are learning how to read. but i regret buying it and i write so that others don't make the same mistake i did. here is a run-down of the errors:

- the book uses the word "dinosaur" four times before telling how to pronounce it (and claims it's hard to say!)
- "there are no dinosaurs today." what about birds?
- as other reviewers have mentioned, it claims apatosaurus hid underwater.
- in addition to perpetuating the "brontosaurus" error, the book also refers to "anatosaurus" which is more properly known as edmontosaurus.
- it can be confusing to young readers to see "apatosaurus" and "anatosaurus," two similar names among only nine named in the book.
- the book depicts triceratops using its horns for (offensive) fighting, but the more accepted theories are either for defense or for courtship.
- the discussion of what killed the dinosaurs is horribly, horribly, wrong. only three ideas are offered, of which only one (the world got so much hotter that it became difficult to find food) is plausible. the book completely misses the K-T impact hypothesis by stating that maybe a comet "came too near the earth," a profoundly silly misunderstanding that evokes the equally ridiculous 1910 panic when the earth passed through halley's comet's tail. and advancing the idea that mice ate all of the dinosaurs' eggs just promotes scientific illiteracy.

granted, the book does get many things right: plesiosaurs and pteranodons were not dinosaurs, even huge dinosaurs had small eggs, dinosaurs co-existed with other reptiles like crocodiles, the world of the dinosaurs was very different from the world of today, and we don't know a lot about them.

but all told, this book is so full of falsehoods and errors, that you will spend half or more of your time trying to explain to your kids that the book is wrong.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great level 3 book, September 28, 2009

By 

MN Mamma (Bloomington, MN, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaur Days (Step into Reading, Step 3) (Paperback)

Is scientific accuracy the most important thing in exciting young readers? I think the reviews that get caught up in that are missing the big picture. Most early readers about dinosaurs are not written as a story with clever text and excellent illustration. This book is. It excites young kids to read and learn more about dinosaurs. It is not a scientific text, but a story. This excellent book got my son to move from a level 1-2 reader to a level 3, then quickly on to chapter books. He found this book exciting and could read it over and over. This is great for kids taking the next leap in reading. I highly recommend it!