Global Warming and the Dinosaurs: Fossil Discoveries at the Poles [Hardcover]

Caroline Arnold (Author), Laurie Caple (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Dinosaurs are usually pictured in warm, tropical environments, but fossils found at the poles are filling in the gap of knowledge about how and where these creatures lived. Evidence from bones and teeth to trackways and skin impressions raises important questions: How did dinosaurs cope with three months of total darkness in winter? What plants grew in the polar regions? How cold was it? What are the implications for today, as glaciers retreat, ice shelves melt, and permafrost thaws? The polar regions are a unique "library" of the past, and Caroline Arnold introduces readers to the gigantic prehistoric creatures that inhabited them.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Fully illustrated, this large-format book takes readers back to the Mesozoic Era, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, even in polar regions. The world’s climate was warmer then and polar ice was seasonal, Arnold explains, but the Arctic and Antarctic winters’ three months of cold and darkness would have challenged the animals that lived there. After the introductory sections, the book shifts from region to region, telling stories of dinosaur fossil finds in Alaska, northern Canada, Siberia, Antarctica, southern Australia, New Zealand, and Patagonia as well as discussing their interpretation and implications. Since illustrations usually show dinosaurs in tropical settings, readers may be startled by the sight of a tyrannosaurid in a winter-white Alaskan landscape or snow falling on ceratops. The best of Caple’s watercolors paintings convincingly portray individual animals while creating beautiful effects with fine-textured surfaces and suffused light. A list of museums featuring polar dinosaur fossils as well as related Internet sites is appended to this clearly written, informative, and handsome book. Grades 4-6. --Carolyn Phelan

About the Author

Caroline Arnold always loved books, but as a child she never thought of writing as a career. Born in Pittsburgh, she grew up in Minneapolis and studied art at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa. "It was only after my children were born that I became acquainted with children's books and it occurred to me that I could use my training to become a children's book illustrator. I soon realized that I needed a text to go with the pictures, and the more I wrote, the more I realized that I liked writing as much as or more than drawing. I've always been fascinated by the natural world and love to go to the parks and museums. Perhaps that is why so many of my books are about scientific topics." Arnold is now the award-winning author of more than 100 books for children. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, a neuroscientist, and teaches writing at UCLA Extension. For more information visit www.carolinearnoldbooks.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (November 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618803386
• ISBN-13: 978-0618803385
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,780,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caroline Arnold is the author of more than 100 books for children. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and recently has illustrated some of her books with striking cut paper art. To see prints and cards of her illustrations, go to www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt. Recent nonfiction titles include A Polar Bear's World, A Bald Eagle's World, Global Warming and the Dinosaurs, A Panda's World, Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age, Super Swimmers, and Easter Island. Her recent fiction books include Wiggle and Waggle, a collection of five stories for beginning readers, and The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, a tall tale.
Her books have received awards from the American Library Association, the National Science Teachers Association, P.E.N., and SCBWI. Recently she received the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for her body of work, the Leo Politi Award from California Readers, and from the Children's Literature Council of Southern California, the Best Written and Illustrated Suite of Nonfiction for children.
Caroline's interest in animals and the out-of-doors began when she was a child growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After majoring in art and literature at Grinnell College in Iowa, she received her M.A. in art from the University of Iowa. Some of her new books are illustrated with her own art. Caroline lives in Los Angeles and teaches part-time in the Writer's Program at UCLA Extension.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will appeal to students ages 8-12, December 23, 2009

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

This review is from: Global Warming and the Dinosaurs: Fossil Discoveries at the Poles (Hardcover)

"Global Warming and the Dinosaurs" is a fascinating child-oriented study of polar dinosaur fossils and other evidence uncovered during the recent International Polar Year studies conducted between March 1, 2007 and March 1, 2009. Questions such as how did the dinosaurs survive the polar winter cycle, with its lack of light and warmth are among those to be studied. Evidence of dinosaur fossils have been found in the Southern Hemisphere in Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, and Patagonia. other dinosaur fossil evidence has been found in the North Polar region in North America, Europe, and Asia. Somehow these specimens of dinosaur life were able to survive the long winter cold and find food and see in the dark. At the time dinosaurs lived in the polar regions, the climate was likely warmer than today. Another difference in the Mesozoic Era when the dinosaurs lived was the land masses of the earth were grouped into two huge super-continents, Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. Gradually these broke or drifted apart into the continents of North America, Europe and Asia and South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia, New Zealand and the Indian subcontinent. "Global Warming and the Dinosaurs" does a thorough job of examining some of the fossil findings and reconstructing specimens of the Polar dinosaurs, complete with color illustrations. Scientific findings from this polar dinosaur study is important today because we are facing a time of global warming that is progressing much faster than ever previously known. "Global Warming and the Dinosaurs" presents a great variety of information in an interesting and entertaining format. It will appeal to students ages 8-12. A list of locations where fossils of polar dinosaurs can be seen is given at the end of the book, along with further information about the International Polar Year.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was a very informative, well researched and one great book the more serious dino lover will enjoy!, January 21, 2010

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D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Global Warming and the Dinosaurs: Fossil Discoveries at the Poles (Hardcover)

When we think "dinosaur" few, if any of us, would even remotely place them in the polar regions. Between Norway and the North pole on the island of Spitsbergen, it was discovered that dinosaurs "not only survived within the polar circles, but were indeed adapted to live in these cold and seasonally hard environments." Traces in the form of fossils showed that the area supported the Allosaurus and the Iguanodon, dinosaurs that the young dino fan is very familiar with. During the Mesozoic Era, which included three different periods, the climate shifted and changed during which times "patterns of life [were] altered."

There are challenges living in such a harsh climate. Snakes and lizards were incapable of living in the polar regions, but how did dinosaurs manage? You will learn how they managed to keep warm, how they were able to see in the sunless winter months and you'll learn why the Toodon may have had such a large brain. Scientists aren't the only ones who have discovered fossils. Joan Wiffen was the "first to discover dinosaur fossils in New Zealand." In this book you will be able to take a `round the world trip discovering fossils, and learning about the dinosaurs who inhabited the regions of Alaska, Siberia, Canada, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, and Patagonia.

This was a very informative, well researched and one great book the more serious dino lover will enjoy. Polar paleontology is a topic that I haven't seen addressed in books for this age group. The illustrations are particularly complimentary because they show the dinosaurs in a habitat that we don't normally see in books. For example, a Hypsilophodontid can be seen in a wintry landscape with snowflakes swirling in the atmosphere. The captions give additional tidbits of information. In the back of the book is a very comprehensive index, a brief discussion about the "International Polar Year," and several additional recommended websites to explore. This is an excellent, exciting book you may wish to add to your homeschool, library or personal shelves!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dinosaurs at the poles, May 31, 2010

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K. A. Eddy (VT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Global Warming and the Dinosaurs: Fossil Discoveries at the Poles (Hardcover)

The global warming part of the title, given the current focus, is not really a true description. If anyone has seen the Arctic Dinosaur program on PBS the book is almost like a companion to that, covering the Colville findings in Alaska. But it also covers the Antarctic discoveries as well, some of which is part of the Spirits of the Ice Forest segment of the BBC Walking With DInosaurs program. My four-year-old is prehistoric-obssessed and loves this book! I learned a lot too. (Given that most of what i knew about dinosaurs was from the '80s when I was in elementary school that may not be saying much, but still).
If you've got a budding paleontologist on your hands this is a great addition to your library!
If you really want a GREAT reference book that covers not just dinosaurs but a great selection of plant and animal life starting with the pre-cambrian period and continuing through the rise of humans I would highly recommend Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth by DK Publishing.