Dinosaurs 

Books reviewed by Brian Soneda, Assistant Director, Public Services.

Dinosaur Eggs, by Jennifer Dussling, illustrated by Pamela Johnson. This is a beginning reader that focuses on a true story of the discovery of fossilized Titanosaur eggs. Young readers will learn something about how dinosaurs lived, how fossils form, and the excitement of finding something new.

Grades 1-3

(Grosset & Dunlap, 48 pages, 2000)

Dougal Dixon’s Amazing Dinosaurs: The Fiercest, the Tallest, the Toughest, the Smallest, by Dougal Dixon. This one is crammed with information about dinosaurs and what made them tick. The illustrations, done by a team of five, are bright and full of life. They really take you back millions of years. Some of the drawings, like the one depicting a pack of meat-eating Dromaeosaurs attacking a huge Camarasaur, might be a little intense for younger kids.

Grade 2 and up

(Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 815 Church St., Honesdale, PA 18431, 128 pages, 2000)

Outside and Inside Dinosaurs, by Sandra Markle. Illustrated almost entirely by photographs of bones and other fossil remains, this book informs kids that there is a lot to learn about little details of a dinosaur’s life from these fossil clues. Parasaurolophus probably used the long crest on his head to make a trumpet like sound. Why do scientists think that? Because blowing air through a model of a fossilized crest created just such a sound.

Ages 5-9

(Atheneum, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, 40 pages, 2000)

Terrible Tyrannosaurs, by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, illustrated by Lucia Washburn. Explores what is known about the most famous family of meat-eating dinosaurs. In case you didn’t know how "terrible" a Tyrannosaurus rex was, "his jaws were were strong enough to rip off a hunk of meat the size of an entire cow in a single bite." Ouch.

Ages 5-9

(HarperCollins, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, 33 pages, 2001)

Finally, the library has many storybooks featuring fanciful dinosaurs. One fun picture book of this type is How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague. Huge dinosaurs, all with human parents, are all depicted as being reluctant to get ready for bed. Insistent Moms and Dads must deal with the likes of a pouting Stegosaurus, a melodramatic Allosaurus and a roaring Triceratops. Not surprisingly, this would make a perfect good night for a parent and a dinosaur-loving child to share.

Preschool-Grade 3

(Blue Sky Press, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, 34 pages, 2000)