Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages
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Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY -- School Library Journal, 11/21/2007
From SLJ December 2007
HOLTZ, Thomas R., Jr. Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages. illus. by Luis V. Rey. 428p. charts. diags. maps. photos. reprods. glossary. index. CIP. Random. 2007. Tr $34.99. ISBN 978-0-375-82419-7; PLB $37.99. ISBN 978-0-375-92419-4. LC 2006102491.
Gr 5 Up–With new discoveries, new theories, new everything in a field once seemingly as set in stone as the fossils themselves, dinosaurian paleontology finds itself in a most unusual state of fluidity. So, when an up-to-date compendium arises from all this new research, it can be a welcome presence. The detailed text can be demanding, but is sometimes even chatty in tone. It covers everything from dinosaur eggs to taxonomy and cladistics to the history of paleontology, glued together with chapters on the dinosaurs themselves. The information is often partnered with sidebars or commentaries by paleontologists working in the field, in museums, and in university labs. The illustrations range from small photos to larger sepia-toned drawings to even larger full-color paintings. Rey has pulled out all the stops with his vision of dino-coloration, but, as no one knows what colors the critters sported, who is to say that Gorgosaurus wasn’t the brilliant green of an emerald tree boa? A 48-page “Dinosaur Genus List” is simply slathered with names (many new) and assorted data. Regrettably missing is a bibliography of sources consulted, but the reputations of the sidebar authors, the author, and the illustrator lend credence to this work on “dinosaur science.” Less academic than Philip J. Currie and Kevin Padian’s well-documented Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (Academic Press, 1997), more detailed than Paul M. Barrett and J. L. Sanz’s National Geographic Dinosaurs (2001), and more informative than David Burnie’s The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia (2001), this eye-catching imagination grabber will be enjoyed (on different levels) by dinophiles of all ages.
