Dinosaurs [Paperback]

Gail Gibbons (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Bright illustrations and an informative text for young dinosaur fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gibbons begins with a clear introduction to dinosaurs and paleontology for young readers. Two-page spreads illustrate and highlight well-known dinosaurs and give an idea of each one's size, habitat, eating habits and behavioras well as a phonetic pronunciation of its name. In closing, Gibbons describes the two leading theories on the decline of the dinosaurs: either the planet grew too hot or meteoritic dust in the atmosphere caused it to cool down. An appendix describes the information gained from fossilized dinosaur footprints. Pleasant and informative, but the number of more elaborate dinosaur books render this one mostly supplemental. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 Like Parish's Dinosaur Time (Harper, 1974), Gibbons introduces one or two dinosaurs per page, providing a few brief bits of information about each creature, along with a pronunciation guide. She also includes simple information about fossils and paleontology, explaining how scientists deduce facts from dinosaurs' fossilized remains and footprints. Although bright and colorful, the illustrations are disappointingly bland. Flora is generic and uninspired; the sky is always a flat, cheerful blue. The dinosaurs, too, lack the ferocious grandeur that children find so appealing. Brachiosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex, described respectively as ``one of the biggest of all dinosaurs'' and ``the most terrible animal that ever roamed the earth'' seem neither grand in stature nor horrifying of tooth and claw. The text also lacks innovation. Gibbons presents little new material on dinosaurs, rehashing dinosaurs' tired old reputations, instead of exploring newer findings. An example: Tyrannosaurus rex is still characterized as ``the terror of the planet,'' despite recent discoveries indicating that the creature may have been, at least in part, a scavenger. Despite its drawbacks, this book should find an audience with beginning readers, very young children, and the meek of heart. Readers who prefer their carnivores horrendous and huge will be better served by Peters' Giants (Knopf, 1986) or Cohen's Dinosaurs (Doubleday, 1987). Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 30 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (July 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082340708X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823407088
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,019,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gail Gibbons has published close to fifty distinguished nonfiction titles with Holiday House. According to "The Washington Post," "Gail Gibbons has taught more preschoolers and early readers about the world than any other children's writer-illustrator." She lives in Vermont. Her website is www.gailgibbons.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intro to Dinosaurs, July 22, 2009

By 

Elisa's Mom (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaurs! (Hardcover)

Not being a dinosaur expert, I found this book to be an excellent non-fiction introduction for my preschooler. It briefly describes the history of paleontology and each main group of dinosaurs. Major questions that your preschooler might have --- what do dinosaurs eat? what happened to them? what do dinosaurs look like? --- are all answered in a manner comprehensible to the target audience. Unlike other non-fiction texts, the author fills her pages with short, 1 to 2 sentences of information. Unfamiliar words (such as paleontologist) are defined within the illustrations.

The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars was the illustrations. For a non-fiction text, the pictures seem too simple --- sketches filled with what I think are watercolors. Despite this complaint, my preschooler loves this book and she herself has no issues with the pictures.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your dinosauraholic is going to love this one!, May 12, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dinosaurs! (Paperback)

If you're thinking about buying this book, you probably have a child in your life that who can roll the names Tyrannosaurus, Edmontosaurus, and Giganotosaurus off his or her tongue with ease, but does he or she know much about them? This book begins with the definition of a dinosaur (it means "fearfully great lizard") and then has a marvelous, colorful two-page spread with assorted sized dinosaurs. Fossils and the role of paleontologists are discussed, including the fact that the paleontologist "divided nonbird dinosaurs into seven groups." Watch out! Here comes the Gibbons parade of dinosaurs! This is what you will see:

Prosauropods (pro SOR uh pods) ... Theropods (THIR uh pods) ... Sauropods (SOR o pods) ... Stegosaurs (STEG uh sors) ... Ankylosaurs (ang kile SORS) ... Ceratopsians (ser ra TOP see uns) and Ornithopods (Or nih thuh pods). Each of these seven groups has a hopping bopping crowd of dinosaurs on their page(s) and a brief description of what they were like. The book even talks about their extinction. Here comes that meteorite!

Gail Gibbons's books are always bright, colorful and, in this case, historically accurate. According to this book, Carl Mehling, a paleontologist from the American Museum of Natural History, reviewed the text. Each dinosaur name has the pronunciation in parentheses below the word (you may wish to practice before reading it out loud.) This is the best "fun" dinosaur book for the younger child I've seen in some time. Your dinosauraholic is going to love this one!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be in the science shelves of every community library's children's collection, August 14, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaurs! (Hardcover)

Massive in size, lizard-like, and armed with horns and teeth; it's no wonder dinosaurs capture children's imaginations. "Dinosaurs!" is a book to educate young readers about these massive lizards from millions of years ago, filled with full color illustrations and fun facts. Sure to please any young dinosaur lover, "Dinosaurs!" should be in the science shelves of every community library's children's collection.