How Dinosaurs Took Flight: The Fossils, the Science, What We Think We Know, and Mysteries Yet Unsolved (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Christopher Sloan (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards)

How did dinosaurs get feathers? How did they start flying? What use were feathers to dinosaurs that didn't fly? Chris Sloan's 2000 book Feathered Dinosaurs introduced kids to the radical idea that some dinosaurs had feathers and that birds are, in fact, a subset of dinosaurs. In How Dinosaurs Took Flight, Sloan returns to these ancient feathered creatures to introduce kids to the fascinating new finds—including a Tyrannosaur with feathers and a dinosaur with not just two but four wings. The author focuses on the tough new questions scientists are asking right now, the evidence they've gathered, the hypotheses that are developing from the evidence, and the unknowns that remain. This book will be the most up-to-date children's book on this topic on the market.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Sloan is Senior Editor for Art at National Geographic magazine, where he guides the work of artists on projects ranging from dinosaurs to the frontiers of space. He is also the magazine's specialist for paleobiology. Sloan is the author of several children's books.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792272986
• ISBN-13: 978-0792272984
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 0.4 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,161,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Fossils

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Radical, but Rare, February 21, 2006

By 

Elizabeth A Triano "lizziewriter" (In Transition, NY (watch this space)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How Dinosaurs Took Flight: The Fossils, the Science, What We Think We Know, and Mysteries Yet Unsolved (Library Binding)

This slim (64 pages) volume carries a hefty price tag, but at this point it's worth it, because there isn't a lot on the market covering the dinosaurs-with-feathers subject (so far as I know). Dr. Xu Xing, who wrote the foreward, is a notable character in the unfolding drama of feathered fossils being found in China.

I consider this book a bit radical in that it runs with the theory of dinosaurs being birds (or was it vice versa?), calling them all dinosaurs: nonavian dinosaurs for the "dinosaurs" and avian dinosaurs for the "birds." It is written in a fairly simple and straightforward manner; I think it is a YA title although I mostly bought it for myself (as a parent having just taken the kids to see the James Gurney's Dinotopia exhibit and activites at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge MA). I think one might want to read it with a child, so that, for example, a younger reader might not end up being teased for insisting that birds are dinosaurs. The theory is out there, it's current, but it's not completely validated yet. I would like to see more well illustrated books on the subject, but this one is a great start.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Dinosaurs Took Flight, March 28, 2007

By 

Love Toread - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Dinosaurs Took Flight: The Fossils, the Science, What We Think We Know, and Mysteries Yet Unsolved (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards)) (Hardcover)

This book is filled with great pictures and it is very informative. The author did a wonderful job explaining the differences between avian and nonavian dinosaurs. The hypotheses throughout the book are followed by the evidence that has been found on that topic. It's great reading for aboout 4th grade through adult, and nice for reading with your child also.