Dino Tracks

by Rhonda Lucas Donald, Cathy Morrison (Illustrator)

Overview

Step back in time and follow dinosaur tracks around the world. Whether made by a few dinosaurs or large groups, these tracks provide clues to the movement and behavior of these lovable ancient creatures. What dinosaurs made the tracks and what do scientists think they were doing when they made them? The author tells the story in rhythmic rhyme that may be sung to the tune of Over the River and Through the Woods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607186199
Publisher:	Arbordale Publishing
Publication date:	09/10/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

2013-09-01
Donald gets the paleontology right in this introduction to fossilized tracks and trackways but crams it into verse that is, to put it mildly, dreadful. "Down by the river and in the rock-- / what are these marks I see? / In some you can lie and curl up inside, / and some have toes of three." Quality of the poetry aside, Donald nonetheless begins by accurately explaining how prehistoric footprints were made and then discovered. She expands on the topic with a tour of dino environments, from tropical river banks to polar snows--noting along the way the distinctive sorts of marks left by single passersby and by herds; by adults and juveniles; by feet and, much more rarely, tails and even wings. Along with occasional visual segues from ancient times to modern, Morrison supplies winningly melodramatic close-up views of toothy predators and well-armored herbivores displaying colorfully patterned skin, scales or feathers. Closing notes (in prose, thankfully) and quizzes provide reinforcement and additional background. Passable art and content, but the narrative presentation couldn't be worse. (map) (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews

Dinosaurs first roamed the Earth about 250 million years ago. They were not here for just a short time, either. They stayed around for nearly two hundred million years. While scientists do not know with certainty why they became extinct, they do have evidence of their time here through what they left behind. We can learn a lot from that evidence. There is no need to wonder whether or not they walked on two feet. Some of them did; some of them did not. We know about this, thanks to the existence of fossils. Have you ever wondered how big dinosaur feet are? There is no need to wonder when we can find out that information through fossils. Have you thought about where they lived? Again, we know they lived just about everywhere based on fossils that scientists have discovered. The story of dinosaur tracks tells an interesting tale of discovery, but the rhyming is less than ideal. Prose may have been the way to go. The book contains four valuable pages of learning activities that make it suitable for the K-3 classroom. Reviewer: Bonita Herold

Children's Literature - Bonita Herold