ALA Booklist

In this simple, brightly illustrated book, Gibbons introduces dinosaurs. After discussing how long ago they lived and how their remains were sometimes preserved, she shows the way paleontologists use fossils to deduce information about the anatomy and behavior of beasts they have never seen. The book's middle section focuses on the five main types of nonbird dinosaurs, with several different species identified in each ink-and-watercolor illustration. Gibbons concludes with a discussion of the giant-meteor-impact theory of the dinosaurs' end and a cheerful scene in a natural history museum's dinosaur exhibit. As in many nonfiction picture books, no sources are cited. An appended page entitled "More about Dinosaurs" includes five additional "fast fact" presentations along with small pictures. Throughout the book, the combination of clear writing and lively artwork makes this an accessible choice for young dinosaur enthusiasts.

Horn Book

Dramatic action scenes in bright colors highlight this treatment of everyone's favorite extinct animals. The dinosaurs are portrayed realistically, but the paintings show an artificial world of violet skies, violent thunderstorms, and volcanic catastrophes. Information on pronunciation is provided, along with details on size, diet, and habitat, plus speculation on colors and vocalizations.

Kirkus Reviews

Gibbons replaces her 1987 take on the topic ( Dinosaurs —without the exclamation point) with a more populous and—usually—livelier primer. Along with devoting a page or spread to each of seven main groups, she shows paleontologists in action, portrays the great extinction of 65 million years ago and closes with a page of random dino-facts. There is some meat-eating going on in one spread, but most of the dinosaurs pose in stately, nondisturbing dignity, displaying faint skin patterning or none, against simplified landscapes. Sometimes clarity is sacrificed to simplicity: In one potential point of confusion, Theropods, the ancestors of birds, are billed as "nonbird," despite a later page about the "birdlike" Archaeopteryx . This very basic overview comes with a few dozen dino-names (with pronunciation guides) to practice, and leads naturally into the author's more detailed Dinosaur Discoveries (2005). (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gibbons begins with a clear introduction to dinosaurs and paleontology for young readers. Two-page spreads illustrate and highlight well-known dinosaurs and give an idea of each one's size, habitat, eating habits and behavioras well as a phonetic pronunciation of its name. In closing, Gibbons describes the two leading theories on the decline of the dinosaurs: either the planet grew too hot or meteoritic dust in the atmosphere caused it to cool down. An appendix describes the information gained from fossilized dinosaur footprints. Pleasant and informative, but the number of more elaborate dinosaur books render this one mostly supplemental. Ages 4-8. (October)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2 Like Parish's Dinosaur Time (Harper, 1974), Gibbons introduces one or two dinosaurs per page, providing a few brief bits of information about each creature, along with a pronunciation guide. She also includes simple information about fossils and paleontology, explaining how scientists deduce facts from dinosaurs' fossilized remains and footprints. Although bright and colorful, the illustrations are disappointingly bland. Flora is generic and uninspired; the sky is always a flat, cheerful blue. The dinosaurs, too, lack the ferocious grandeur that children find so appealing. Brachiosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex, described respectively as one of the biggest of all dinosaurs'' andthe most terrible animal that ever roamed the earth'' seem neither grand in stature nor horrifying of tooth and claw. The text also lacks innovation. Gibbons presents little new material on dinosaurs, rehashing dinosaurs' tired old reputations, instead of exploring newer findings. An example: Tyrannosaurus rex is still characterized as ``the terror of the planet,'' despite recent discoveries indicating that the creature may have been, at least in part, a scavenger. Despite its drawbacks, this book should find an audience with beginning readers, very young children, and the meek of heart. Readers who prefer their carnivores horrendous and huge will be better served by Peters' Giants (Knopf, 1986) or Cohen's Dinosaurs (Doubleday, 1987). Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library