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Diplodocus: Gigantic Long-Necked Dinosaur
This dinosaur cracked its tail like a whip. It chomped plants all day long. It lived in large herds for safety. There is so much to learn about this dinosaur, and readers will delight in learning about Diplodocus and the other long-necked dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago. Spectacular color paintings, created by one of the world's most respected and accomplished paleoartists, will thrill readers. The simple text, along with Words to Know and phonetic spelling, makes this full-color book well suited for early readers.
* Reviews *
Each book introduces basic facts about a well-known dinosaur. A few sentences cover topics such as food, enemies, and related species. The author has a good sense of how much is too much for his audience. He mentions that T. rex was only one kind of large, meat-eating dinosaur, then includes pictures of two others without going into details that might confuse young readers. The texts are simple, with a bit of extra liveliness added for descriptions of battles among these reptiles. Presentation is not always consistent: for T. rex and Diplodocus, sizes are included, along with a diagram with a human child for comparison, but this information doesnt appear in Triceratops. Accurate illustrations include a nice mixture of diagrams, line drawings, and color scenes. Many of them are set against what looks like a tan rock background, which lends an appropriately archaeological feel and contrasts nicely with the occasional blue landscaped settings. Some of the language is vague enough to be slightly misleading. One day all of the dinosaurs died (Tyrannosaurus Rex) sounds as if they all disappeared within 24 hours. Stating that the world was much like it is today, exceptthere were no buildings, no cars, and no people (Tyrannosaurus Rex) implies that geography and flora have not changed in 65 million years. Overall, though, these titles do a good job of giving kids a solid first look at these intriguing creatures., School Library Journal September 2005
RL
Grades
K-2 IL
Grades
K-3 GRL
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