Dinosaur Discoveries

February 1, 2006
Gr 3-4 -Gibbons leaps backward into the world of dinosaurs, starting with the cosmic event that may have caused their extinction 65 million years ago. From there she reviews the three geologic periods of the Age of Dinosaurs and provides a brief history of paleontology and its modern methods. What follows are busy pictorial spreads that feature a variety of saurians by classification (e.g., ceratopsians, stegasaurs, etc.) The swirling colorful illustrations depict enough dinos to satisfy novices, though "Oviraptor" lacks his crest and definitive beak, and "Kentrosaurus" his formidable shoulder spikes. Also, while "Torosaurus" once held the slot for the largest skull, it has been ousted by a recent find of an even larger pentoceratopsian skull. No dimensions are provided, but the nesting behavior of "Maiasaurus" is shown, as is the evolutionary connection between small theropods and modern birds. The book is vigorous, crowded, and slightly flawed, but it will entice young novices into demanding MORE. -"Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018
A lightly revised survey of current dino-knowledge, updating the original 2005 edition."Lightly" is the key word here, as aside from one partially redrawn illustration and a few minor emendations, the changes are limited to editorial tweaks. Gibbons opens with the great extinction event, shows crews of paleontologists--including several women but all save one white, as before--at work, goes on to profile seven "groups" of dinosaurs from prosauropods to ornithopods, then closes with a link to modern birds. Considering the almost frenetic pace of new fossil discoveries, this is all something of a missed opportunity: There is no mention of Patagotitan mayorum, for instance, the largest land animal ever, nor, aside from the carried-over Archaeopteryx, are feathered dinosaurs represented beyond a specimen of Oviraptor in one illustration that has been recast as Anzu with the addition of a few inconspicuous feathery squiggles on the forelimbs. Still, the toothy T. rex on the cover is as riveting as ever, and despite being so loosely drawn that some Maiasaura are simply relabeled here as Edmontosaurus, another genus entirely, enough dinosaurs crowd the sparely detailed prehistoric scenes within to please even the most demanding fans.Almost entirely old news but nevertheless a must for libraries in need of replacement copies. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

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October 1, 2005
Gr. 1-3. Unlike dinosaurs themselves, fascination with these prehistoric creatures continues to flourish. Gibbons focuses on the most recent theories about dinosaur history, abetted by facts unearthed by new dinosaur discoveries. Following a two-page spread that presents the three periods of the Age of Dinosaurs comes a series of captioned panels with accompanying text that present some basic facts about dinosaurs and their remains. Gibbons then turns attention to seven categories of nonbird dinosaurs, beginning with the earliest, Prosauropods, identifying members of each group in captioned artist's renderings, arranged by period, and noting some individualizing characteristics in an accompanying paragraph of text. More general information follows. Back matter lists nine discoveries, and endpaper maps pinpoint where discoveries have been made. Pronunciation guides appear in parentheses, and there's a handy dinosaur index on the last page. The colorful spreads are a bit crowded, but dinosaurs remain distinct. A high-interest subject, capably simplified.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)