Science Comics--Dinosaurs

April 15, 2016
Grades 4-8 Reed and Flood's entry in the Science Comics series traces the history of paleontology as much as it covers dinosaurs. Beginning with some speculation about ancient cultures' interpretation of dinosaur fossils, Flood and Reed go on to explain how industrialization, with all its new construction, led to the sudden wealth of fossil discoveries. A flurry of fossil finds by some dynamic characters follows, and as scientific theories become more complex, so, too, do the dinos. Flood's dinosaurs are very up-to-dateevery velociraptor has feathers, for instanceand though a few layout decisions make the information a bit muddy, the wealth of diagrams, maps, and detailed illustrations are engrossing. The ultimate lesson is that scientific discoveries are never static, and reevaluating long-held beliefs about the world is essential to scientific progress. Amid a glossary, notes, and further reading suggestions, one of Reed and Flood's appendixes bears that out. Just before the book was printed, one of their facts was debunked by a new discovery, so they include an update. Aspiring scientists of all stripes will be charmed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)