Dinosaurs (National Geographic Readers Series)

by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, National Geographic Staff

Overview

There's nothing more fascinating than dinosaurs. In this Level 1 reader, youngsters learn all about the terrifying giants that once roamed the Earth—maybe even as close as their own backyard! They'll be wowed by new information and eye-popping illustrations from National Geographic, a trusted source of children's nonfiction content

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426307751
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/12/2011
Series:	Readers
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	2,210
Product dimensions:	8.76(w) x 5.96(h) x 0.08(d)
Lexile:	520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

KATHY WEIDNER ZOEHFELD is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and University of Michigan Ann Arbor where she decided to put her science degrees to use by writing nonfiction books for kids. Since then she has written over 60 natural science and history books for young readers, and been awarded honors by the NSTA/CBC, the NCSS/CBC, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Library Association, the IRA/CBC Children’s Choice. When she’s not reading, researching, writing, or editing, Kathy loves to spend her free time exploring, doing field work, and preparing fossils in the laboratory for her local natural history museums.

Editorial Reviews

Since dinosaurs are extinct, readers learn that our knowledge about these creatures comes from fossils that paleontologists have discovered. While the bones give an idea of the animals' size and structure, they do not tell us anything about their skin or coloration. Fossils have been found that do show skin patterns which include scales and feathers. There is a spread that names and phonetically spells out the names of half a dozen of the more well-known dinosaurs. Then there is a presentation of the biggest, a description of how dinosaurs walked, held their necks, what they ate and a description of the teeth associated with herbivores versus the carnivores. Kids will probably find this section fascinating especially seeing the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth. For those who may have wondered about woolly mammoths, they were not dinosaurs, however the text is unequivocal in stating that chickens are living dinosaurs. That may be a bit of a revelation to some readers. The layout uses excellent photographs and has dinosaurs running across the top of every page; a bit busy but still appealing. There are jokes interspersed throughout and most are puns. A good start for those fascinated by big these large extinct animals. A Level 1 book in the "National Geographic Readers" series targeted to kids who are starting to read. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot