From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-An attractive and useful resource. Introductory essays cover topics such as how dinosaurs are named and grouped. The heart of the book is the alphabetical list of more than 700 entries, providing pronunciation, name derivation, classification, size, era, geographical location, and diet for each species. Brief paragraphs offer further descriptions, behaviors, and interesting facts. Only dinosaursare covered, with no flying reptiles or ichthyosaurs to confuse things. Discoveries, such as Nigersaurus from 1999, are included, and several more recent finds are grouped at the end. See references lead readers from common names to the correct entry, so researchers looking for Brontosaurus are neatly guided to Apatosaurus. Most of the dinosaurs are accompanied by small illustrations, either of the animal or its fossil, and numerous striking full-page paintings show these creatures in their habitats, often in active poses that grab the eye. This encyclopedia fills a gap between simpler volumes, such as Jim Pipe's Dinosaurs A to Z (Copper Beech, 2003) and Rupert Matthews's Dinosaurs A-Z (Blackbirch, 2002), and ones with broader scope like Paul Barrett's National Geographic Dinosaurs (National Geographic, 2001) and David Burnie's The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia (Kingfisher, 2001). The concise entries, dictionary organization, and comprehensive coverage make this an excellent choice for circulating and reference shelves.
Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, ORCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Doing what so many of us wanted as children when we looked for dinosaur books, this one lists dinosaurs in alphabetical order and gives their pronunciation. Other information includes what each dinosaur's name means, its complete taxonomic classification, length, time period, place, diet, and other details. Icons beside each name tell the reader to which class of dinosaur it belongs. Running along the bottom of each two-page spread is a chart identifying these icons. Many dinosaur names are no longer used, and the author explains why the names are not valid.
Almost half of the pages are color illustrations of the dinosaurs mentioned on the facing page's text. Smaller illustrations are liberally placed throughout, including pictures of bones and teeth as they are found at digging sites. Information boxes profile paleontologists or give interesting sidelights about dinosaurs and dinosaur research.
The text is thorough and interesting and not too difficult for elementary-school readers, who will be excited to have this book. The facts and explanations are very interesting and address most of the questions kids have about dinosaurs, how they lived, how they are discovered, and how scientists figure out what they are. The bibliography lists books, videos, reputable Web sites, museums, and expeditions. The author even tells readers how to participate in a dig. This is an excellent purchase for every school and public library, and many children will want their own copies. RBB
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