My Tourist Guide to the Prehistoric World

July 23, 2012
A time machine that resembles a large, futuristic motor home takes readers on a virtual adventure through Earth’s history in this companion to My Tourist Guide to the Solar System... and Beyond. Opening with Earth’s formation and the first appearance of animals, the book moves through the ascent and decline of dinosaurs, the Ice Age, and the beginning of the age of humans. Digitally illustrated spreads introduce the animals, plants, and geographical features for each era (the armored sauropelta and aquatic nothosaurs are among the less familiar dinos profiled). Inventive features—such as time traveling tourist reviews (“What intelligent people! I was expecting Neanderthals to be stupid cavemen, but they aren’t at all!”)—invite readers to imaginatively participate in the journey. Ages 7–up.

December 1, 2012

Gr 3-5-Readers are invited to hop aboard a live-in time machine to take a tour from the Precambrian Earth of 4.6 billion years ago to the rise of the Neanderthals. Stromatolites to trilobites, Nothasaurus to Elasmosaurus, megalodon to Smilodon-the journey unfolds with photographically realistic illustrations as readers enjoy the side excursions skiing on a "snowball Earth," jet skiing on a Cretaceous ocean, and zip-lining amid a herd of Barosaurs. Various sidebars provide data on size, diet, habits, habitats, and dates, with a few tourist tips thrown in for good measure (run from a Postosuchus, for example). Brief paragraphs of text are provided, as is a non-dated time line ("Age of Fish," "Age of Insects," etc.).The section on the "Age of Humans" is extremely weak. Particularly annoying is a size-comparison outline of a "Human" and a "Neanderthal" (Homo sapiens, anyone?) Browsable but not memorable.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.