Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs [Paperback]

Byron Barton (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: April 30, 1993 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

A long time ago there were dinosaurs. Big dinosaurs and small dinosaurs. Dinosaurs with horns on their heads or spikes down their backs. Dinosaurs with long, long necks and long, long tails.

Imaginatively and with a masterful use of color, shape and composition, Bryon Barton brings to life a unique and endearing vision of what the world may have looked like once upon a time.

A long time ago there was dinosaurs. Big dinosaurs and small dinosaurs. Dinosaurs with horns on their heads or spikes down their backs. Dinosaurs with long, long necks and long, long tails.
Imaginatively and with a masterful use of color, shape and composition, Byron Barton brings to life unique and endearing vision of what the world may have looked like once upona time.

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1989 (NSTA/CBC)
Science Books and Films -- Editor's Choice
Science Books and Films -- Best Children's Science Book List

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barton's economical book does not scrimp on details or ebullient hues. In colors straight out of a crayon box he provides children with a genuine "first" dinosaur book. The endpapers provide a vivid glossary of dinosaurs, with names and phonetic pronunciations underneath each picture. And then the sweet text: "A long time ago there were dinosaurs. There were dinosaurs with horns and dinosaurs with spikes . . . . There were fierce dinosaurs and scared dinosaurs." That particular line is illustrated with a black cloudy sky and jagged yellow lightning; the simple expressions of fear on the dinosaurs' faces will reassure readers that even these mightiest of creatures could have been afraid of the same things children are. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-- Barton's radiant pallette of Play-Doh colors is perfect for dinosaurs. His illustrations capture the plasticity and vividness of children's own artwork, without patronizing or making fun of his young audience. More than Gibbons' Dinosaurs (Holiday, 1987) or Aliki's My Visit to the Dinosaurs (Crowell, 1985), Barton conveys the primordial sense of excitement that draws children to these beasts. Despite the illustrations' simplicity, Barton's dinosaurs' expressions are not mammalian smiles; they have a saurian quality all their own. The endpapers identify the creatures by scientific name and pronunciation. Barton wisely keeps his text simple, describing dinosaurs only by size and physical features ("There were dinosaurs with sails on their backs, and dinosaurs with hard bony heads"), letting his drawings portray who owned which horns, teeth, tail, and spikes. This superb introduction for the very young shares the excitement of dinosaurs with its audience, without tangling their attention spans in boring details.
- Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (April 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006443298X
• ISBN-13: 978-0064432986
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 10 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Children's Books > History > Prehistoric
  • #15 in Books > Children's Books > History > Exploration & Discovery
  • #86 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Dinosaurs

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bed Time Show Stopper October 3, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Board book

This book is a must have for reading time. My one year old boy has loved it since birth (well almost birth)! He really likes the part about "Long sharp claws and long sharp teeth! " It brings the house down. Yet, it still ends with a sleepy touch.

Get it... or regret it!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dinosaurs,Dinosaurs June 21, 2000

By written by deon bates-special education student

Format:Hardcover

It is a good book and I enjoyed the book a lot and I liked the pictures. This book can tell you about dinosaurs and what their different body parts are called. Some of them ate meat and some of them ate plants. The dinosaurs lived a long time ago.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great DINO book for TODDLERS June 19, 2000

By Amie

Format:Paperback

My 2 yr. old son loves dinosaurs and we got this book at our library. Practically every page was ripped (seemingly by the hands of other dino-loving toddlers) and mended with strips of tape. I am dreading the return of this book to our library so I am purchasing it for a low price here. It has simple & bright pictures and short text for short attention spans. It even ends with "sleepy dinosaurs" with their eyes closed for that perfect segway to bedtime!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Our favorite book! October 30, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is my son's favorite, and mine too! Although he's only six months old, I've been reading to him almost every day since he was old enough to pay attention, and he has loved this book from the word go - probably because of the bright colors and simple shapes, but maybe also because when I read it to him it's fun to make "dinosaur noises" and roars, which he finds very entertaining. Although I have read this book so often that I have literally memorized it, I'm not tired of it yet, and that's about as high a recommendation for a baby book as I can make!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Current Favorite (8-mo-old baby girl) July 26, 2010

By K. Carson

Format:Board book|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs is, at the moment, my baby's favorite book. I spread a different set of four books out on the floor in front of her every morning, and she always chooses this one first if it's there. She turns the pages herself, and seems to favor kentroasuarus (orange dinosaur with spikes) and tyrannosaurus rex (dinosaur with long, sharp claws and long, sharp teeth). It's really fun to see!

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs is also one of my favorite baby books. I love Byron Barton's illustration style with big, bold colors, and I like his simple writing style, too. I also get a kick out of the fact that a volcano erupts every time T-Rex comes on the scene. I guess he's just that awesome.

This set of board books (I have a lot from Byron Barton, including: Boats, Planes, Machines at Work, and Trains) stands up very well to its exposure to a teething, drooling baby who still spits up on her books regularly and is determined to turn the pages for herself -- enthusiastically. That is to say, we abuse -- I mean, read -- this book daily, and it's still in quite good shape. A little wear and tear at the edges of the pages where the gumming has been particularly vigorous, but otherwise fine.

My only lament about this book, and board books in general, is that they are nearly always abridged. I have the paperback version of this book, too, and it has some extra pages in it, including triceratops mommy laying her eggs and the pachycephalosaurses head-butting it out. Without the battle of the bony-headed dinosaurs, the pachycephalosaurus on the last page of the book seems like an afterthought.

Oh well. I still love this book, and Elsie just has something to look forward to when she's big enough for paper books (if Dinosaurs Dinosaurs is still a favorite by then).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Great For Older Dino Lovers October 12, 2012

By A. C. Johnson

Format:Paperback

My son didn't get into dinosaurs until he was almost 4. Now he is obsessed with them and has learned all about them and talks all the time about things like which dinosaurs were sauropods and which ones were therapods and where the Western Interior Sea was ... Yet, he LOVES this little book. He is an early reader, so I think he likes the fact that he can read the whole thing by himself. In addition, it is nice how Byron Barton drew the dinos with accurate details, for example the T-Rex id shown with only 2 fingers. It is VERY simple, but it is likely going to keep your kids entertained over the course of many years.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Have" October 26, 2010

By Crevi

Format:Paperback

This is literally our son's FAVORITE book. He's 10 months now and we've been reading it to him since he was probably 6 or 7 months old. We read a variety of books - usually 2 or 3 each night - and he usually wants to read this book after all the others. I swear it helps him go to sleep. For younger kids of his age, I highly recommend the board book version if you can get it - it's the perfect size for little hands. I LOVE THIS BOOK!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My son's favorite! May 9, 2008

By Vinson's mom

Format:Board book

This has been my son's favorite book since he was about 8 months old. I was suprised how well he took to it as such an early age. He is now almost 14 months and still can't get enough of it. It is the one book he will look around for and really insist on having at his high chair during meal times. Agree completely with the other reviewers who mentioned how fun it was to make the dinosaur noises and that the "long sharp claws, long sharp teeth" part is especially fascinating for the child. Even when i don't have the book handy, just by saying the opening lines...a long time ago...there were DINOSAURS -- brings a delighted smile to his face every time.

He also enjoys "My Car" by the same author although that book is not as simple (i.e., talks about car needing oil change, obeying traffic laws, etc.).