The Dino-sphere

Owen provides young, dinosaur-crazy children with a basic introduction to fossils and the work of paleontologists in this Dino-Sphere series (10 titles) entry. Incorporating a large font, short sentences, plentiful color photographs, and text boxes into two-page topical spreads makes the book approachable for beginning readers. Beginning with scientists finding fossilized T. rex bones, the text describes how and when the dinosaur might have died, how its flesh was eaten by other animals, and how its bones turned to rock, ultimately settling the dino beneath a mountain—only to be discovered several million years later. The wonderfully gross topic of coprolite—always a kid-pleaser—also gets a mention. The back matter includes an illustrated glossary, other books, and a link to websites. This will satisfy teachers and beginning researchers alike.

The fascinating world of dinosaurs and their eggs is brought to life and explained in a way appropriate for young dino enthusiasts.

The first two-page spread sets the atmosphere—cute, little dinosaur babies just breaking out of their eggs. The high quality of the worked photos throughout the book create an extremely realistic appearing setting, which is sure to catch the attention of young readers right away. How dinosaurs laid eggs, what their nests looked like, how the babies were card for and exactly why the eggs we find today were fossilized are topics which are all addressed. At the end of the book, there’s a glossary to help with more difficult terms, a list of where to find more information about the topic and a website address to learn more as well.

The text is steered toward younger readers/listeners and kept at the minimum required to address a topic. The colorful bubbles of information sprinkled among the illustrations help point out certain aspects and offer more information. The information never runs too deep, but simply gives a general idea of dinosaurs and their eggs. Several different dinosaurs are addressed to illustrate the various nesting possibilities, and while this was interesting, some of the dinosaur types were not familiar to my listeners….Dinosaur fans are sure to enjoy this one!