That's no dino! : or is it? : what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur

That's no dino! Or is it? : what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur

Helaine Becker

Book - 2021

Dino-loving kids will learn what a dinosaur is by discovering what it's not, in this fun and innovative introduction to some other prehistoric creatures. Everyone knows what a dinosaur is, right? Well, maybe not. Roaming the earth alongside dinosaurs, there were other less well-known animal species -- but they were not dinosaurs. So, what is it that sets the dinosaurs apart? Here, readers are introduced to ten prehistoric animals that look like dinosaurs, but they're missing at least one key characteristic that all true dinosaurs have. One by one, each of those "missing" characteristics is added to a growing list, so that, by the end of the book, readers will know what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur! Bestselling and award-w...inning author Helaine Becker uses an innovative approach to expand the world of dinosaurs for young readers. Each funny, fact-packed spread presents one prehistoric creature, with a large illustration and information about its habitat, behavior and characteristics, including which characteristic makes it not a dinosaur. Cumulative checklists of these characteristics help readers build a definition of what a dinosaur is, making complex paleontology concepts accessible. An example of a true dinosaur at the end ties it all together. All content has been well-researched and thoroughly vetted by museum and university paleontologists. Marie-Eve Tremblay's quirky, colorful illustrations include several clarifying side diagrams to support understanding. The backmatter contains more about true dinosaurs as well as a glossary, index and sources for further reading. With many curriculum links in life science, this book is particularly useful for lessons on the classification of living things.

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j560/Becker
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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room j560/Becker Due Apr 26, 2024
Subjects
Animals, Fossil > Juvenile literature.
Dinosaurs > Juvenile literature.
Instructional and educational works.
Picture books.
Genres
Instructional and educational works
Picture books
Published
Toronto, ON : Kids Can Press [2021]
Language
English
Main Author
Helaine Becker (author)
Other Authors
Marie-Eve Tremblay (illustrator)
Physical Description
31 pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781525300233
Contents unavailable.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A look at some of the physical features that distinguish true dinosaurs from other large, extinct creatures. Becker tries here to create an unambiguous definition of dinosaur by comparing 11 prehistoric animals to a checklist of (supposed) dinosaur characteristics, but the attempt is likely to leave readers more confused than enlightened. "Dinosaurs had grasping hands," for instance. Does T. rex? Well, no…but its ancestors did, so thumbs-up. How about Sacisaurus? Thumbs-down--even though no fossil hands have so far been found for that species. Does Quetzalcoatlus make the cut? No, because it had batlike wings, and "most dinosaurs didn't." Except, she admits, for that one kind that did. Protorosaurus? No, because it did not live in the Mesozoic Era. The birds of our era? "Dino experts say yes!" To be fair, even said experts can't come up with a universally accepted definition, and eventually even the author seems to throw up her hands, switching in the last several pages to discussions of bird hips versus reptile hips and remarks about dinosaurs in general. Along with depicting all of the dinos and nondinos in the illustrations with the same creepy, staring eyes, Tremblay muddies the waters even further with a lineup of unlabeled skulls with varying numbers of holes in them in illustration of one of the principles of dinosaur-ness. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A brave effort, doomed from the start. (glossary, index, print and web sources) (Informational picture book. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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