Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 3. With so many books about dinosaurs being published for older children, it's refreshing to find a good one for younger kids still in the throes of dinosaur fever. Better still, this one steers clear of both tooth-and-blood illustrations and the pretense that science has all the answers. The discussion opens with the idea that even though much is known about dinosaurs, there are still mysteries to solve. The pages that follow introduce a series of unanswered questions--for example, What sounds did they make? Was Tyrannosaurus rex a hunter or a scavenger? Clearly written and filled with fascinating facts for dinosaur enthusiasts, the book introduces a new mystery or two on each double-page spread. O'Brien's detailed, often-witty ink drawings, brightened with colorful washes, interpret the facts imaginatively. Teachers and parents can use this unusual book to spark discussion about dinosaurs and, perhaps, about the insatiably inquisitive nature of science. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This lighthearted book examines the unknowns about dinosaurs as a way into addressing some of science's larger issues. Hort's (The Seals on the Bus) cheerful narrative often notes the facts ("We know from fossil teeth that most dinosaurs ate plants") and then segues into information that is still missing ("But we don't know how such giant sauropods as Argentinosaurus or Seismosaurus could ever eat enough to maintain a weight that might have been as much as one hundred tons"). Some of the info, such as how the prehistoric creatures mated, is conjecture: "Perhaps male dinosaurs strutted their stuff to attract a mate, but in most cases it's not possible to tell a male fossil from a female, let alone determine what a lady dinosaur might have looked for in a gent." Among other mysteries touched upon are what color dinosaurs were, why they disappeared, and how the largest of them managed to lay their eggs so that they did not shatter on the ground. O'Brien's (The Beach Patrol) artwork steals the show with unabashedly silly scenarios. One particularly kid-pleasing spread, speculating on how Tyrannosaurus rex hunted, depicts a toothy T. rex at a restaurant littered with waiters' bones, bow ties and aprons, while a similarly clad dino server-his next victim?-is pushed through the kitchen door by his peers, carrying a covered dish. An entertaining way to consider how science is a field of raising questions and pursuing the answers, even if they are inconclusive. Ages 4-6. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-A bit of creative humor and detailed ink-and-watercolor illustrations will stir the imaginations of readers who question the mysteries surrounding these prehistoric creatures. As the text alternates between what scientists know and don't know about them, museum experts paint a model, a single dinosaur joins its "relatives" in a zoo's birdhouse, and a long-neck nibbles his way through tropical "pizza trees." Did dinosaurs see in color? How did they get enough to eat? What color were they? How did they communicate? Why did they have fins or plates? More likely, the book raises questions, not answers. Its format entertains but answers little. Mark Teague's bolder, fanciful illustrations in Jane Yolen's imaginative books (Scholastic) fit the youngest of readers a bit more closely. However, children gather around any book with dinosaurs as the primary topic, and the playful illustrations combined with a bit of information and thought-provoking questions make fine starters for investigation. An additional purchase for most libraries.-Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Hort combines established dinosaur facts with what we don't yet know or have gotten wrong about dinosaur anatomy, behavior, and habitat. The tone is rather skeptical (leaving readers to wonder if paleontologists are making any progress at all), but the overall treatment is humorous and matched by the cartoonlike illustrations that take liberty with all the unknowns. Reading list, websites. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
While allowing that fossils have plenty to tell us about what dinosaurs were like, Hort notes that there are still plenty of unanswered questions--from what they ate and how those massive but tiny-headed plant eaters managed to down enough chow to maintain their weight to what all the spines and spinal plates were for. Echoing the author's breezy tone, O'Brien casts Triceratops sending each other love notes with their neck frills, Maiasaurs with a stroller full of unhatched offspring, a Tyrannosaur in a restaurant downing both entrees (i.e., dead food) and waiters (live), and the like. Aside from a rhetorical "How much would you like dinosaurs to know about you?" at the end, this will please budding dinophiles as it raises their awareness of the split between paleontological fact and speculation. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
