Review — Everything Dinosaurs

The latest in the Everything series will certainly appeal to young dinosaur enthusiasts. Illustrations rule here, even though, as the text mentions, scientists aren’t sure about the color, shape, and texture of most dinosaurs. Tempesta’s illustrations present dinos of all sizes and dimensions, like the Mamenchisaurus, whose neck was 35 feet long. These pictures provide a sense of drama and danger, though the fainthearted should take note that several images depict ravenous dinosaurs feasting rather bloodily upon others. Hoena packs in a lot of facts, ranging from one-sentence “Dino Bites” to fieldwork insights from paleontologist Sereno. One intriguing section discusses how dinosaurs cared for their young and shows fossils of the long, thin eggs of meat-eating dinosaurs; the bowling-ball-sized Diplodocus eggs; and the spiral patterns that some dinosaurs used to organize their eggs. The book doesn’t delve very deeply, but like the dinosaurs, it covers a lot of ground.
—Booklist