Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Dinosaurs! Strange and Wonderful
Illustrator: Carol Heyer
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 6 to 8
Boyds Mill Press, 1995 ISBN: 978-1878093165
Very often when we think of dinosaurs we think of the great huge creatures whose bones have been discovered and put together to create mammoth skeletons that we can look at in museums. We think of T. Rex and Stegosaurus, Triceratops and Brachiosaurus. Now we are shown not only these creatures that perhaps are old friends, but some new animals. In this extremely intensive and yet highly readable and entertaining book we discover that there was truly a world of dinosaurs. They lived in every possible kind of environment, flew in the air, and small dinosaurs scuttled in the undergrowth. How many of us can honestly say that they thought about their being small dinosaurs! Not only that but some dinosaurs were tender mothers who cared for their eggs and their babies.
In addition to describing the dinosaurs, the author tells the reader all about the process of discovery and how we know as much, or as little, as we do about these animals of the past. In brilliant and vibrant colors, Carol Heyer has been shown herself to be unafraid of using her imagination. Her dinosaurs are full of life and we are left in no doubt that they were truly the rulers of the age in which they lived. Well researched and clearly written with a love of the subject, this is a wonderful book to use to introduce a child to dinosaurs and their times.
