About This Book

Prehistoric dinosaurs Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Ornitholestes, Protoceratops, Triceratops, and the ever-popular Tyrannosaurus rex bare their teeth and claws in the pages of Joanna Cole's informative book. Starting with a dinosaur bone that has been buried for millions of years, Cole goes on to describe the whole creature in terms that young readers will be able to understand: "longer than a trailer truck . . . heavier than ten elephants put together . . . every step it took must have sounded like thunder."

Mort Kunstler's soft, green-and-black drawings aptly capture the ferocity and physical characteristics of these great beasts. From the text, readers will learn where each kind of dinosaur lived, what it looked like, what it ate, and how it nested. In one exciting hypothetical scene, Cole describes the battle between two Tyrannosaurus rex vying for the same duckbill. The two giants run, dodge, snap and bite with their huge teeth as they fight to the death for their dinner. Potential reasons for the eventual extinction of the dinosaurs are explored at the end of the book. Use this text as an excellent factual introduction to the variety of dinosaurs and their customs. A good source for science reports.