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CM . . . . Volume XVII Number 39. . . .June 10, 2011. 
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Ankylosaurus. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Adrian Chesterman.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1810-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1797-3 (RLB).
Subject Heading:
Ankylosaurus-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Apatosaurus. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Trevor Reaveley.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1811-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1798-0 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Apatosaurus-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Parasaurolophus. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Gabe McIntosh.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1812-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1799-7 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Parasaurolophus-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Pteranodon. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1813-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1800-0 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Pteranodon-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Sabre-tooth Tiger. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Trevor Reaveley.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1814-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1801-7 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Saber-toothed tigers-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Spinosaurus. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Chris Scalf & Gabe McIntosh.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1815-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1802-4 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Spinosaurus-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Stegosaurus. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1816-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1803-1 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Stegosaurus-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Triceratops. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1817-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1804-8 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Triceratops-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Tylosaurus. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1818-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1805-5 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Tylosaurus rex-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Tyrannosaurus Rex. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1819-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1806-2 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Tyrannosaurus rex-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Velociraptor. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1820-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1807-9 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Velociraptor-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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Woolly Mammoth. (Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone).
Gerry Bailey. Illustrated by Karen Carr.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1821-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1808-6 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Wooly mammoth-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Gail Hamilton.
**½/4
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excerpt:
Spinosaurus knew he had a chance if he could scare away the larger dinosaur. He did not want to fight. He raised himself as high as he could, but he was a young dinosaur and not as tall as the other one. Suddenly the larger dinosaur lunged.
It caught Spinosaurus’s sail in its mouth, which sent a flash of pain along its back. At the same time the bigger dinosaur raked a claw across his body and opened a small wound.
Spinosaurus had to act quickly. He knew he could not win a big fight. The dinosaur was just too big. He would have to back down. Quickly he turned and ran. (From Spinosaurus.)
Twelve titles comprise the “Smithsonian Prehistoric Zone” series. Each book follows the same format, beginning with a page-long introduction which is almost identical in each title. Following that, a narration tells about a day in the life of the featured dinosaur, and though the facts are accurate, the dinosaurs are personified, and readers are told how the dinosaur is feeling or what it is thinking as it goes about its daily life. After the story, whose main theme is survival (in every book there is a predator attack and an escape; why couldn’t at least one of the books have an unhappy ending, which would be more realistic?) there are several pages devoted to factual information on a related topic, some examples being dinosaur brains, horned dinosaurs and Ice Age mammals. With the word “Smithsonian” in the series title, one would expect books of exceptionally high quality, but the series falls a bit short. The text font would indicate that the books are targeted for younger readers, but there is an inconsistency between the vocabulary and the sentence length in the narrative portion of the book and the expository text in the second part. It is almost as though the book is meant for two different groups of readers, younger ones for the first half and older ones for the second. Reading a single volume or two in the series is alright, but after reading several volumes, one feels that they all have a sameness about them that becomes not only predictable, but boring. In fact, some of the information is repeated throughout the series, one example being the explanation of the Encephalization Quotient, which is how scientists calculate the dinosaur’s possible intelligence based on the ratio of brain size to body weight. On the plus side, the authors do a good job of creating the setting for the story, painting a vivid picture, for example, of the damp, rainforest habitat with its lush, green vegetation.
Illustrations have an “other worldly” look and consist of paintings that seem to be computer-generated. There is a sameness about these as well, and sometimes the sense of proportion is distorted. In a few of the illustrations, the featured dinosaur is depicted going uphill, so the illustration has been turned slightly. This causes the trees and shrubs to appear as if they are not growing upright, but sideways instead. Other illustrations include diagrams and a timeline.
A glossary, an index and a list of books and websites for further study are also provided.
Ankylosaurus lived 65 million years ago near the end of the Cretaceous period. This herbivore was covered in large bony plates and spikes, and it had a wide, flat mouth with a beak for tearing plants. Two knob-shaped bones at the end of its tail were used for defense. In Ankylosaurus, there is information about the other animals that lived at the same time (including predators such as Tyrannosaurus Rex), the Ankylosaurus family, and present-day armored animals. A bit of careful editing is in order in this title as there are a few errors.
Apatosaurus tells the story of a female dinosaur that is trying to find a safe place to lay her eggs. This book, in particular, tends to personify the Apatosaurus by telling the reader how the dinosaur feels or what it thinks. Some examples include, “she did not like the look of the Allosaurus”, “she felt safer at the edge of the forest, especially in her condition”, and “suddenly, she realized it was too quiet”. Following the narrative story, there is information about how pebbles in the stomach might have helped plant-eating dinosaurs to digest their food, much like a gizzard aids a bird’s digestion. There is also a comparison of dinosaur eggs.
Parasaurolophus was a duck-billed herbivore with a swept-back crest on its head, short front legs, and a flattened beak with rows of grinding teeth for chewing tough plant material. The first part of Parasaurolophus tells about an attack by an Albertosaurus, while the second part of the book includes a section about hadrosaurs and scientific theories about the purpose of crests, the most likely one being that the crests acted as echo chambers and produced sounds.
Pteranodon features a flying dinosaur with a seven meter wingspan. This dinosaur ate mostly insects and aquatic animals, such as crabs, mollusks and fish, which it swallowed whole. The story tells of Pteranodon’s escape from a Tylosaurus, a fierce predator of the sea, as well as its hunt for fish to bring back to its young in the nest. In the second part of the book, there is a section about how Pteranodon might have travelled- either by flying or gliding- and the body parts which enabled it to do so. There is also a graph of various flying dinosaurs and their wingspans which range from the Anurognathus’s mere 30 centimeters to the Quetzalcoatlus’s 12 meters.
Sabre-tooth Tiger shows the similarities and differences of knife-toothed, disk-toothed and scimitar-toothed cats. Scientists have been able to figure out a great deal about the physical appearance of these large cats by examining fossils discovered in tar pits. Not especially fast, but very powerful, sabre-tooth tigers preyed upon injured or sick bison, Harlan’s ground sloths, mammoths and mastodons. They lived in grasslands in the southwestern United States and parts of Europe and South America in the time of early humans, but, by that time, there were no dinosaurs remaining on Earth. Sabre-tooth tigers became extinct 10,000 years ago.
One of the largest carnivores at 12 meters long, Spinosaurus lived about 95 million years ago. An upright walker with long jaws, straight teeth and a huge two-meter high sail on its back, Spinosaurus was an imposing force. Scientists speculate that the sail was used for display, to threaten other dinosaurs, or to control its body temperature. In Spinosaurus, readers will learn how scientists study footprints and tracks to determine whether an animal walked on two legs or four, travelled alone or in groups or whether it ran or walked. The argument amongst scientists as to whether dinosaurs were warm or cold-blooded still persists.
Stegosaurus means “roof lizard”. This herbivore weighed two metric tons and was nine meters long, but it only had a walnut-sized brain. Two rows of bony, leaf-shaped plates along its back were likely used for defense or for temperature control. The first part of Stegosaurus tells the story of an Allosaurus attack, while the second part describes the various members of the Stegosaurus family.
Triceratops means “three-horned face”. This animal’s larger brow horns measured about a meter in length and its huge skull was almost three meters long. Triceratops begins with a story of a Triceratops eating and watching other animals. A Tyrannosaurus rex appears, but, at the last moment, a herd of Triceratops arrives, and the Tyrannosaurus, no match for a large group, stomps away. The back of the book explains the various mouth parts which helped the Triceratops to eat plant material: the beak for snipping off plants, small teeth in its cheeks for chewing, and powerful jaws for eating tough plant fibers.
Tylosaurus features a water dweller that had a streamlined body, a rudder-like tail and flippers that made it a strong swimmer. Its loosely-hinged jaw could open wide to swallow large prey. In this story, Tylosaurus is looking for turtles or crocs to eat while trying to avoid a shark. But an older Tylosaurus, not the shark, turns out to be its enemy, wrapping its tail around the younger one. However, the “victim” manages to break free and swim up to the surface to breathe. The book explains that this animal was not considered a dinosaur, but an aquatic reptile. Its cone-shaped teeth enabled it to eat ammonites (ancient mollusks), fish, sharks, plesiosaurs and, possibly, diving birds.
As tall as a two-storey building, Tyrannosaurus rex was the largest carnivorous dinosaur living on land. It had a powerful sense of smell and excellent eyesight due to its binocular vision. Tyrannosaurus Rex showcases this fierce predator and scavenger whose befitting name means “tyrant lizard king.” In the story, Tyrannosaurus is having a difficult time finding food until along comes a small Anatotitan. At one point, Tyrannosaurus is startled by the sound of a volcano about to erupt (this part seems a bit far-fetched, almost an afterthought, as though the author suddenly remembered to insert this information). The back of the book includes a graph showing the sizes of different dinosaur species.
Velociraptor features a dinosaur that had a larger brain than most dinosaurs. It used its tail for balance when running and for changing direction quickly. A sickle-shaped claw was its main weapon. Travelling in packs that worked as a team when taking down prey with their strong legs and razor-sharp claws, Velociraptors often hunted animals larger than themselves. Information at the back of the book focuses on smaller dinosaurs with an accompanying graph to show their relative size, as well as different types of dinosaur feet- broad feet for supporting heavy weight, sharp claws for grip, and sickle-shaped claws for slashing prey.
Evidence from cave paintings shows that humans and woolly mammoths likely lived at the same time. Early humans made huts from woolly mammoth bones that were up to five meters in diameter. The mammoths had large heads with long, curved tusks, a muscular trunk and two points at the end of the trunk for breaking off bits of plants. They spent a great deal of time foraging for food, requiring about 180 kg of plants each day in order to survive. In Woolly Mammoth, the story tells of a mammoth that becomes separated from his herd in a blizzard and finds shelter in a cave. The next day, he escapes a sabre-tooth tiger attack by swinging his tusks, only to be spotted by a pack of wolves. Luckily, his herd is nearby and thwarts the attack. The back of the book shows a number of Ice Age animals, including the woolly rhinoceros, the cave bear and the giant deer.
Almost a blend of fact and fiction due to the change in writing style partway through each book, this series will especially appeal to boys.
Recommended with reservations.
Gail Hamilton is Library Learning Resources Consultant at the Instructional Resources Unit, Manitoba Department of Education, in Winnipeg, MB.
To comment on this title or this Gail Hamilton.
, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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