Dinosaur Cousins? (Paperback)

by Bernard Most (Author) "I know that there are no dinosaurs anymore..." (more)
Key Phrases: dinosaur cousins

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A kangaroo and a kakuru form one of many eye-catching pairs among these engaging comparisons of modern-day animals and dinosaurs. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3 It helps, when studying dinosaurs, to have a good imagination and an inquisitive mind. Since most young children are well-equipped with both imagination and curiosity, it's refreshing to find a dinosaur book whose premise emphasizes imaginative hypothesizing over dry bones and dull facts. Unfortunately, this book doesn't quite pull it off. The premise is good; to help children understand dinosaurs, Dinosaurs Cousins? compares dinosaurs to animals that are living now. For example, the well-armored ankylosaurus is compared to a modern-day armadillo, while a duck-billed dinosaur gets matched up with (what else?) a duck-billed duck. The problem is that the book doesn't always clearly differentiate between scientific fact and/or hypothesis, and imaginative fancy. The aforementioned comparison of ducks and duck-billed dinosaurs is a case in point; yes, scientists now believe birds are related to dinosaurs, but not necessarily because both have duck bills. The illustrations confuse the issue even further; duck-billed dinosaurs are shown with the same coloring as the ducks; and drawings of a rhino and a triceratops are almost indistinguishable. True, a child might not notice or care, but books such as Aliki's My Visit to the Dinosaurs (Crowell, 1985) and Carrick's Patrick's Dinosaur (Houghton, 1983) are clearer in both their purpose and their intent. Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Voyager Books (August 24, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152234985
• ISBN-13: 978-0152234980
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #980,152 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, September 17, 2000

By	Brenda Hauff (Yankton, SD) - See all my reviews

I am a teacher, and use this book in the classroom. I feel it does a good job of explaining things in a kid way. It promotes creative problem solving, and imagination. It is in terms the students can relate to. My students loved this book and so do I.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, November 8, 2001

By A Customer

My 4 year old son loves this book. I've found very few books
about dinosaurs that are on his level. This one is perfect. It
has concrete information about different dinosaurs and compares
them to familiar animals, and there are no gory pictures. I'd
highly recommend it for this age level.

5.0 out of 5 stars The size of Dinosaurs, April 28, 2001

By A Customer

My son is almost 3 and a dinosaur lover but he didn't understand why he couldn't see them in the zoo. I explained they lived long ago and this book helped him relate to the size and shape of dinosaurs by comparing them to animals he has seen. It really works!