The sharply defined realism of Steve Jenkins’ Prehistoric Actual Size (2005) may be absent, but young dinophiles will still...
A rare opportunity to go nose to nose with Diplodocus, measure a human shoe against the fossil footprint of Allosaurus, and like dino-encounters.
Following her up-close survey of modern creatures in Lifesize (2018), Henn goes prehistoric in the same 1-foot-square format. She alternates big, broadly brushed images of fossil or fleshed-out body parts (or a gathering of eggs on one spread) with pulled-back views of each creature in a broader setting accompanied by breathless commentary: “To be this completely GINORMOUS Diplodocus had to eat A LOT.” Said commentary is light on specific facts (though she does properly note that Pteranodon and Albertonectes were reptiles but not true dinosaurs), but she closes with a slightly more informative minigallery. A particularly sharp-looking Utahraptor claw (“OUCH!”) and multiple appearances or mentions of Allosaurus lead up to a climactic gander at the toothy grin of Tyrannosaurus rex—placed on a double gatefold and therefore a full 4 feet long. “Say cheese!” Although several of the creatures are depicted with feathers, Henn’s palette mostly hews to mud and moss colors, so despite the stunning close-up views, the book has an overall subdued look.
The sharply defined realism of Steve Jenkins’ Prehistoric Actual Size (2005) may be absent, but young dinophiles will still roar. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: June 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61067-885-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
It’s got a few quirky bits, but it’s lackluster overall.
Pop-up dinosaurs, both fossilized and fully fleshed out, join Mesozoic contemporaries in a series of museum displays.
The single-topic spreads are up-to-date but designed to evoke the dusty atmosphere of old-style dinosaur halls (emphasizing this conceit, some are even labeled “Rooms”). They combine cramped blocks of information in smallish type with images of beasts and bones done in a style that resembles the faded naturalism of early-20th-century museum murals—or, in the “Fossil Room,” a desktop covered in paleontological notes with paper clips and coffee stains. Occasional inset spinners and attached booklets supply additional dino details. A tab-activated flipbook attempts to demonstrate tectonic drift, but readers have to go fairly slowly to assimilate it all, which blunts the effect. Amid pale silhouettes representing modern museum visitors, the prehistoric creatures, nearly all of which are small and drably colored, rear up individually or parade along in sedate, motley groups until a closing display and mention of genetic engineering promise a possible future with pet velociraptors.
It’s got a few quirky bits, but it’s lackluster overall. (Informational pop-up picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9687-0
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A winning, and necessary, update to Kathleen Zoehfeld’s Terrible Tyrannosaurs (2001, illustrated by Lucia Washburn).
Tyrannosaurus rex poses with 10 recently discovered relatives in this toothy portrait gallery.
Speaking as “Dr. Steve,” co-author Brusatte—paleontologist and tyrannosaur lover—explains to young dinomanes how the titular tyranno (formally dubbed Qianzhousaurus, nicknamed for its long nose) was unearthed and reconstructed before going on to introduce nine other 21st-century discoveries. Each comes with a general description, a “fact file” of basic statistics, a collective timeline that neatly groups contemporaries, and a realistically posed and rendered individual portrait in a natural setting. Following a simple but effective activity involving chalk, a tape measure, and a very large expanse of concrete, an equally cogent infographic at the end illustrates size extremes in this prehistoric clan by juxtaposing images of a human child, a like-sized Kileskus, a full size T. Rex, and a (slightly smaller) school bus. The dinos display a wide range of coloration and skin and feather patterns as well as distinctive crests or other physical features, but Dr. Steve, who is white, is the only individualized human figure until a closing album of snapshot photos.
A winning, and necessary, update to Kathleen Zoehfeld’s Terrible Tyrannosaurs (2001, illustrated by Lucia Washburn). (pronunciation guide, glossary, museum list) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-249093-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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