Sabertooth [Hardcover]

Patrick O'Brien (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Long ago there lived big cats whose giant teeth make today’s cats look tame: sabertooth! Those teeth helped it compete with other predators for a meal of mammoth—or even a tasty human.

 

Then, ten thousand years ago, every last sabertooth disappeared. With only ancient bones—and massive teeth—to guide them, scientists are learning amazing facts about these enormous prehistoric cats.

 

Patrick O’Brien’s captivating illustrations, exciting facts, and kidfriendly, comics-inspired design will thrill young adventurers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—A look at saber-toothed cats, with an emphasis on Smilodon, which perished in the thousands in the La Brea Tar Pits, leaving their blackened bones to be discovered 10,000 years later. O'Brien traces the feline family back to early Proailurus (30 to 20 million years ago), mentions a number of species, and includes some non-feline predators with saberlike canines. Realistic watercolor and gouache illustrations lend eye-catching glamour to the captionlike text, showing Smilodon's skeletal makeup and making life-size comparisons of teeth from a sabertooth, a modern tiger, and a modern human. Other contemporary predators are illustrated as well, along with a picture gallery of possible prey. While some recent research seems to indicate a measure of dental "fragility" limiting bite pressure, O'Brien opts for the cat's "huge teeth" as "perfect for biting through the thick, hairy hide of big beasts, such as mammoths and buffalo." Even if you already own Barbara Hehner's dramatic Ice Age Sabertooth: The Most Ferocious Cat That Ever Lived (Crown, 2002), you might want to make room for this sure-to-be-popular work.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

O’Brien, whose previous children’s books on prehistoric animals include Megatooth (2001) and Mammoth (2002), now offers this large-format, fully illustrated volume on prehistoric cats with canine teeth so long, sharp, and curving that they are called sabertooths. After introducing several contemporary cats as well as several kinds of sabertooths, O’Brien focuses mainly on the Smilodon genus. He shows a large illustration of a Smilodon skeleton and points out that no one really knows the color or pattern of a sabertooth’s fur, and in a series of smaller paintings, he offers several alternate views of the animals. O’Brien writes clearly about the sabertooths as well as the other prehistoric animals and the La Brea Tar Pits, a rich source of their skeletal remains. The book’s main strength, though, is its excellent artwork, which portrays dramatic scenes and quiet studies of the animals with equal skill and attention to detail. A visually strong introduction. Grades 2-4. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805071059
• ISBN-13: 978-0805071054
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 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: #720,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Children's Books > History > Prehistoric

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the best paleontology book for young children...ever, July 31, 2009

By 

Science-Minded "ParentingScience.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sabertooth (Hardcover)

This 32-page picture book is one of the best paleontology books for young children that I've ever seen.

Author/illustrator Patrick O'Brien hits all the right marks:

* Putting sabertooths in phylogenetic context by surveying the living cats

* Comparing the anatomical adaptations of sabertooths to other big cats

* Comparing life-size pictures of sabertooth-, living tiger-, and human canines

* Discussing how sabertooths killed their prey

* Showing a reconstruction of the family tree of sabertooths

* Putting sabertooths in ecological context as predators by offering galleries of (1) the creatures they probably hunted (e.g., mammoths, giant capybaras, humans) and (2) the creatures they probably competed with (e.g., bear-dogs, cave lions, humans, the 7-foot tall carnivorous bird known as Diatryma)

If it stopped there, Sabertooth would be an outstanding book. But O'Brien goes even farther. He invites kids to think about the missing pieces of the puzzle, noting that we don't know what color the cats' coats were. In a wonderful two-page sequence, O'Brien considers several alternative patterns (based on the coats of living cats).

O'Brien even touches on parallel evolution, noting that other (now extinct) mammals have evolved cat-like traits and saber-shaped teeth. He describes how sabertooth fossils have been preserved, and puts in a plug for protecting the big cats that are still alive today.

In short, this is a terrifically well-conceived book and a model of how paleontology should be presented to kids. It's the sort of book that inspires kids to ask questions and get involved in the study of evolutionary biology. I highly recommend it.

- Parenting Science

5.0 out of 5 stars The vibrant cover illustration is a surefire draw to this book and once opened the reader is not disappointed!, July 2, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sabertooth (Hardcover)

Have you ever been to a zoo or a circus and seen one of more different "big cats?" Lions, tigers, cheetahs, cougars, jaguars and even your little kitty cat are related to a cat that made these animals seem like mice in comparison. The original cat lived about 30 million years ago and about "20 million years ago the tree split into two kinds of cats." This ferocious beast who lived 10,000 to millions of years ago was called the sabertooth. The saber-tooth we know most about was called the Smilodon.

One amazing fact it that many of the Smilodon remains scientists have discovered and learned the most from actually come from "what is now downtown Los Angeles." Hundreds of unfortunate animals, including Smilodons, got stuck in tar pits and perished. In this book you'll be able to look at many illustrations that depict what scientists thought these cats may have looked like, how they hunted, what their prey may have been, what other predators they had to compete with, what may have been their favorite meal and why they may have become extinct. Did you know that the saber-toothed cats had canines almost a foot long?

The vibrant cover illustration is a surefire draw to this book and once opened the reader is not disappointed. The very informative text and the exiting illustrations mesh perfectly to encourage the young reader to keep on reading. Even the reluctant reader will find this book to be a page turner. If you have a youngster who is interested in dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals I'm sure they'll love strolling through these pages as well!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for my Nephew, February 21, 2009

By 

Tina - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sabertooth (Hardcover)

My nephew loves anything about Saber Tooth Tigers, so I was happy to get him this book...