First Dinosaur Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

From the first sea mammals to fierce dinosaurs, this inspiring reference book takes children on a fantastic journey into the prehistoric world.

Editorial Reviews

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.

From 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

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (December 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756625394
• ISBN-13: 978-0756625399
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Veterinary
  • #7 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias
  • #7 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Children's

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Encyclopedia, March 20, 2007

By 

W. Wise - See all my reviews
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This review is from: First Dinosaur Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

My 5 year old son enjoys this book, but I wish it had a better resource for learning about individual dinosaurs. Great pictures and information on the time periods, but he's too young to learn (or not interested) in the time periods, we want more information on each individual dinosaur. Bits of information on each dinosaur is scattered throughout the book, so it's hard to find all the facts of the T-Rex for example.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Serious" Dinosaur Book, October 28, 2009

By 

Ursula K. Raphael "AstraDaemon, The Zombiephiles" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: First Dinosaur Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

For quite some time, my 4yr old's favorite dinosaur book was My Big Dinosaur Book. Recently, however, he asked me to find him "a serious dinosaur book." So, I searched our public library, and found First Dinosaur Encyclopedia. My son loves this book.

It begins by disucssing how different the Earth was when dinosaurs existed. Illustrations show the changes between the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Not only are dinosaurs from each period featured, but details about plant life and fossilization are included.

Both the drawings and photographs remind me of the Discovery Channel shows like When Dinosaurs Roamed America. The actual information is extremely well-organized, making it very easy for any young student to write a report or essay using this book, on his or her own. Pages also, include "buttons" that have either a reference to another selection in the book, or some unusual fact is highlighted. In addition, the glossary contains words that would make a great vocabulary list.

I recommend this dinosaur encyclopedia to anyone interested in the subject; keep in mind this is intended as an introductory encyclopedia.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars info too scattered, December 20, 2010

By 

Phan Phu - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: First Dinosaur Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Bought it book intended to give it to a 5 y/o for xmas. I looked through the book and found the info to be too scattered. It's arranged by: intro, info about dinosaurs, and time period. Each page has bits of info here and there. Personally, I just did not like the arrangement of info. If you are looking for a book with a different dinosaur on each page with some info about them, this is not the book for you.