My Visit to the Dinosaurs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science) [Library Binding]

Aliki (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1985 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2

Dinosaurs are extinct now, but you can visit dinosaur skeletons in a museum. There you will meet Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Diplodocus and learn how they ruled the earth millions of years ago. You'll see dinosaurs with over 1,000 teeth, dinosaurs who could swim, meat-eaters and plant-eaters. And, of course, you'll meet the king of all dinosaurs, the gigantic Tyrannosaurus rex.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 Like the original edition, this book introduces young children to dinosaurs through a visit to a natural history museum. The simple text explains how paleontologists discovered dinosaur bones and reconstructed the reptiles' skeletons from their fossilized remains. Also included are brief descriptions of the more well-known dinosaurs, accompanied by full-color illustrations of the creatures as they once appeared. The text of this edition varies little from that of the earlier book. It's the new illustrations that make this revision worth purchasing; Aliki's clear, full-color pictures provide just enough detail to maintain young children's interest without confusing them. Similar in content to Parish's Dinosaur Time (Harper, 1974) and Milton's Dinosaur Days (Random, 1985), Aliki's book is slanted more toward a young listening audience rather than beginning readers. Along with Aliki's Digging Up Dinosaurs (1981) and Fossils Tell of Long Ago (1972, both Crowell), this book gives preschoolers an excellent introduction to paleontology and to the giant reptiles of long ago. Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a very Greek family. Her talent for drawing, first recognized by her kindergarten teacher, was encouraged by her parents and other teachers she will never forget.

After graduating from the Philadelphia College of Art, she started a career in advertising art. She married Franz Brandenberg and lived in Switzerland for three years, where she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell.

After they moved to New York, she wrote My Five Senses, the book that changed her career and her life. Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many by other authors, including Franz. Their children, Jason and Alexa, who have artistic careers of their own, appear in many of Aliki's books as cats, mice, or themselves.

Aliki loves music, theater, films, museums, reading, and digging in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the United States, Greece, Switzerland, and other countries, many of which are reflected in her books.

NOTES FROM ALIKI

0nce, when I was reading one of my books to Jason, who was just learning words, I asked him, "What is my name?" He said, "Byaliki." I laughed. But in many ways I am a bi-Aliki. Greek and American. Bilingual. Author and illustrator. Writer of fiction and nonfiction-books that come from inside out (feeling books), and outside in (research books).

I had no thought of becoming a writer until it happened. But early on, I developed a lifelong habit of writing down my feelings. I realized it helped me understand my hurt, anger, bewilderment, or happiness. Words flowed out into poetry, letters, and journals. It was practice for later on.

I wrote The Two of Them when my father died. I wrote We Are Best Friends when we moved from New York to London. I wrote about my childhood seaside vacations in Those Summers. In fact, it was on one such family vacation that I was born unexpectedly (in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey -- but we never lived there)!

Marianthe's Story, two books in one volume, is very much my own. In one of its two parts -- Painted Words -- Mari is lucky to have such an understanding teacher and the ability to express herself through pictures (as was 1). In Spoken Memories, the villagers are composites of family and friends, and the voice is often my grandmother's. She cared passionately about education and passed it on to us.

All by Myself! -- snapped after watching my nephew Peter, who was just learning to dress himself. We can take nothing for granted. All skills -- from the simplest to the most complicated -- are learned. They take patience, perseverance, and determination. With some, a little talent helps. Life is one big challenge. I'm still trying to learn to swim.

My research books come from a fascination with a subject I know only a glimmer about. It can take three years to read, delve, dig, write, and repeat the process for the illustrations. It can be torture, because Virgos don't like to make mistakes.

To write My Visit to the Aquarium, I visited eleven aquariums -- the most fun research ever. But then I had to get the right fish into the right tank. My Visit to the Zoo was even harder. Nine zoos, hundreds of books, magazines, and related matter. And with all due respect to the author, the illustrator has twice the work. I call it hard fun.

All books -- read or made -- change lives. None more than William Shakespeare & the Globe. I was challenged by wanting to compress 40.0 years into 38 pages, to tell (in words and pictures) a story that comes full circle. It didn't help that we know very little about Shakespeare the man. But I was enveloped by his words -- which brought him to life. When I finally finished, the pain of loss -- which lasted months -- was like parting from a beloved friend.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Revised edition (October 29, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0690044232
• ISBN-13: 978-0690044232
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,255,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Aliki is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children that are treasured by readers all over the world. Her many well-loved titles include My Visit to the Zoo, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, Tabby, and Those Summers. Aliki lives near the Globe theater, in London, England.

In Her Own Words..."Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a big Greek family where everyone was busy creating and sharing their activities. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to bean artist, although music was also a natural talent. She was encouraged throughout her early life by her parents and by teachers she will never forget."She graduated from the Philadelphia Collegeof Art and started a career in advertising art. After she married Franz Brandenberg, Aliki continued her career in his country, Switzerland, where they lived for three years. It was there that she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell, which was published in England. When they moved to New York, Aliki wrote and illustrated My Five Senses--the book that changed the direction of her career and her life.

Although she had never thought of being a writer, Aliki has been making books ever since. Children's books, she says, are a combination of two things I love: words and pictures. I also love the privacy of books--both reading them and making them. Aliki writes fiction, in which she can express her feelings, and nonfiction research books about subjects she's interested in and wants to know more about. Each book is a new challenge; each is different, she says. The subject directs the way I illustrate a book, the same way friends bring out different parts of us. The challenge is to get the words right and then to make pictures that expand and enhance their meaning.""Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many written by Franz Brandenberg and other authors. Her two children are also in the arts. Jason is a filmmaker and Alexa is a children's book author-illustrator. They appear in almost all of her books as cats, mice, or themselves.

Aliki loves music, theater, cinema, museums, children, her cat, Nefertiti, and working in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the U.S., Greece, Switzerland, and other parts of the world, though most of the time she is alone in her studio with the books she is working on--and Mozart."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful children's introduction to dinosaurs., July 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: My Visit to the Dinosaurs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science) (Library Binding)

Aliki's 'My Visit to the Dinosaurs' is an exciting and scientifically accurate adventure through the dinosaur hall of a museum of natural history.
Children from pre-school up will enjoy their tour
through this fascinating world through the eyes
of a child. The supplemental audo cassettte is
well recorded and easy to follow, an excellent
way for your little one to learn how to read and
increase their vocabulary. Occasional comments by
Prof. Franklin Branley, former Director of the
American Museum of Natural History in New York
City are an added treat.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great for a 5 year old boy, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Visit To The Dinosaurs (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science: Stage 2) (School & Library Binding)

My 5 year old son really enjoyed this book. It has good content at a reasonable length that held his attention. The art work is also good. It is simply a good book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my visit to the dinosaurs review, December 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: My Visit to the Dinosaurs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science) (Library Binding)

My visit to the Dinosaurs is a book I would reccommend to any kid. This book is a very good book that has lots of pictures and teaches you a lot about dinosaurs. This book takes you through a dinosaur museum as you follow a young boy and his Father and sister. They give you cool facts that you might not have known about Dinosaurs. they show you all kinds of dinosaurs, small, tall, short and long. They tell you how you find Dinasours and other exciting facts. this book in my mind is deffenently one of my favorite children books.