Ankylosaur Attack

July 1, 2011

Two armored dinosaurs square off against a hungry T. Rex in this quick but unusually immersive prehistoric episode.

Even by current high standards, the full-spread art is uncommonly photorealistic—featuring Cretaceous creatures on which every lump, scale, feather and wrinkle is sharply defined and woodsy settings in which nearly every leaf, frond and tuft of moss can be picked out. The plot, in which a young ankylosaur is rebuffed by an injured older one but then returns to help out when a slavering (see the drool) tyrannosaur attacks, is no great shakes, but who cares? The main event is definitely the close-up views of craggy dino faces and the T. Rex's massive, shiny, pointed dentifrice. No blood or wounds are visible, and the figures seem frozen in tableaus, but Loxton and co-illustrator Smith choose close-up angles that evoke both the massive size of the contenders and the drama of their encounter effectively.

For a series dubbed Tales of Prehistoric Life, this kickoff doesn't offer much of a story, but it's a memorable showcase for a new dino-artist team. (afterword) (Picture book. 6-9)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 1, 2011
Grades K-3 The ankylosaur was a giant armadillo-like dinosaur with a tail that could be used as a club. Since it lived at the same time as the Tyrannosaurus rex, there is obviously an opportunity for any book about an ankylosaur to center around a T. rex attack, which this title does with gusto. The text frames its facts around the story of a young ankylosaur who is rebuffed by a grumpy, elder member of the same species. Then the older, vulnerable dinosaur gets into a brutal fight with a T. rex, until he is rescued by the younger dino, who sends the T. rex into retreat with a well-aimed tail blow. Part of a series called Tales of Prehistoric Life, this title includes portrayals of dinosaurs with altruistic emotions that come close to breaking rules of nonfiction, but that blurry line won't stop young readers from thoroughly enjoying the computer-generated images of dinosaurs locked in fierce combat. A final page about ankylosaur and T. rex closes this picture-book-size volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)