DINOSAURS BY THE NUMBERS

An introduction to dino diversity through visual comparisons and infographics.

Small of trim size but rich in facts and insights, this set of images and charts mixes Jenkins’ typically realistic paper-collage animal portraits with variously colored silhouettes of modern or prehistoric figures. These are all arranged in ways that vividly clarify relative sizes, for instance, allowing viewers to understand at a glance (with a bar chart composed of stacks of bones) the very different quantities of fossil finds on each continent or graphically represent such big numbers as the devastating effects of (select) mass extinctions and the tiny time humans have existed on Earth compared to the reign of the dinosaurs. One- or two-sentence captions and side notes comment on the visual presentations, the index is annotated with additional facts, and the backmatter includes both a reasonably current reading list and a cogent reminder that much of what we know about dinosaurs is speculative. Reinforcing that last point, a schematic image of a Lythronax (a T. Rex relative) specimen in which the very few bones that are actual fossils and not reconstructions stand out in a vivid red will give museum visitors who think that the full skeletons they see on display are all original a whole new perspective. Companion title Earth: By the Numbers publishes simultaneously.

A spectacular series kickoff featuring imaginative graphics and visual design that will provide even confirmed young dinophiles with fresh food for thought.