PRESHISTORIC TIMES

Preschool | Ages 5 to 8 | Ages 8 to 11

Preschool

Boy, were we wrong about dinosaurs!
Kudlinski, Kathleen V.; illustrated by S.D.Schindler (Dutton Children’s Books, 2005, unpaged)
This picture book is not really about dinosaurs. Rather it shows the way scientific knowledge adapts and grows in the light of new discoveries. Using dinosaurs as the subject matter, the book explains how interpretations of fossils have changed since they were first discovered (the ancient Chinese thought they were dragon bones) and therefore our understanding of these creatures. Examples include the placement of Iguanadon’s ‘horn’ on its nose when they later turned out to be spikes on its front limbs and the way the nests of baby dinosaurs has altered thinking on dinosaur behaviour. An excellent explanation for young children about how scientific facts are not always correct at first and the need to be open to new interpretations and understandings as scientific knowledge evolves. Also suitable for ages 5-8.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES; GENERAL SCIENCE)

Ages 5 to 8

Uneversaurus
Potts, Adrian (David Fickling Books, 2006, unpaged)
Although a picture book, some of the vocabulary, concepts and jokes are more suitable for an older readership. Beginning with the obvious statement “No human has ever seen a dinosaur”, the text then asks “So how do we know what they looked like?” The book shows how clues on fossils help scientists put the skeletons of these creatures together and extrapolate from the skeleton to a realistic image of the living creature. But it then launches into a very good discussion of characteristics of animal coverings such as colour, camouflage, shading and texture and how these features may possibly have applied to dinosaur appearance. The illustrations then show imaginative options such as a tiger-striped Tyrannosaurus, a red Stegosaurus and a flock of multi-coloured Pterodactyls. Readers are urged to use their imaginations to guess what these amazing creatures may have looked like and the final endpaper provides a drawing of an Amargasaurus for them to colour in however they like.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES; ANIMALS)

Dinosaurs
Sabuda, Robert and Matthew Reinhart (Encyclopedia Prehistorica, Walker Books, 2005, unpaged)
The first book in the 'Encyclopedia Prehistorica' series, Dinosaurs contains over 35 amazing pop-ups by renowned paper engineer Robert Sabuda and his associate. There are six double-page spreads which each open to reveal a large pop-up prehistoric creature. Around the sides of each page are more opening flaps containing smaller pop-ups. The information about all of these animals and their time on earth is contained in captions and within the flaps. This book was followed by two more volumes in the series, Sharks and other sea-monsters and Megabeasts. Due to the number of moving parts, the recommended age for these books is five and up.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES)

Ages 8 to 11

Pleistocene times
Breidahl, Harry (Wildlife of Ancient Australia, Macmillan, 2002, 32pp.)
One of a series of six, this book introduces animals that lived in Australia up to 2 million years ago. Each book in the series follows a standard format, placing the period or epoch in context, giving some information about specific animals, a world map of the time, a look at the vegetation, and how the period ended. As well as an index, glossary and reference list, a ‘code-breaker’ to scientific names (a list of word roots) provides an interesting way of helping children understand these names.

Other books in the series are Miocene and Pliocene times, Eocene and Miocene times, Cretaceous times, Jurassic times, and Triassic times. The books on earlier periods are more speculative and extrapolate from our knowledge of other continents.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES. AUSTRALIAN)

Reptiles
Creagh, Carson (and Weldon Owen team) (Allen & Unwin/Macdonald Young Books (Discoveries), 1996, 64pp.)
Using a caption-text layout similar to the Collins Eyewitness Guides but with fewer items per page and with more artwork than photographs, this book provides a good overview of reptile biology. It has one doublepage spread for ancient reptiles, four each for chelonians and crocodilians, one for the tuatara, nine for lizards, seven for snakes, and one for danger to reptiles. Although prepared in Australia it is designed for the international market and so the examples used come from around the world, but good Australian examples are included.

Mammals (1996) has similar format amd forms an excellent overview of the subject.

Dinosaurs (1995) also provides a good overview of the subject, putting them in context well, with sections on before the dinosaurs, the world in Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and uncovering dinosaur clues as well as describing types and behaviour.
(ANIMALS; PREHISTORIC TIMES. AUSTRALIAN)

The ultimate dinosaur book
Lambert, David (RD Press, 1993, 192pp.)
Lots of young readers are quite fascinated by dinosaurs and often pass through a dinosaur phase. This book is one of the most comprehensive on the market, probably only accessible to the keenest of young fans because of its technical language. However, its superb illustrations, including photographs of models of reconstructed dinosaurs, would keep many young readers occupied for hours. As this is a Dorling Kindersley book, it is laid out along similar lines to the Eyewitness Guides. Each double page has an introductory paragraph with additional information adjacent to the illustrations. There is an introductory section on excavating fossils and restoring them. The book concludes with an A-Z of dinosaurs as well as a comprehensive index.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES)

Gogo fish!: the story of the Western Australian state fossil emblem
Long, Dr John, illustrated by John Long and Jill Ruse (Western Australian Museum, 2004, 40p.)
Dr John Long is a palaeontologist who works for the Western Australian Museum. This book is a description of the expedition to Gogo Station in 1986 when the fossil of Mcnamaraspis kaprios was discovered, the techniques used to extract the fossil from the rock and the research undertaken before naming it. A subsequent campaign by schoolchildren resulted in the species being proclaimed as Western Australia’s state fossil emblem. This book is a good explanation of a palaeontologist’s job and the painstaking behind-the-scenes work involved in any major discovery.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES. AUSTRALIAN)

More Australian dinosaurs
Pride, Marilyn (Angus & Robertson, 1997, 32pp.)
Twelve types of recently discovered reptiles and amphibian from dinosaur times are described and depicted in a double-page spread each. Maps indicate location of fossil finds and the text indicates how only a few bones of each were found. The introduction and descriptions together give a good overview of Australia in the Mesozoic. This book is much more readable than either the easier (Dinosaurs of Australia) or more difficult (Australian Dinosaurs) version of Pride's earlier book, but it covers a different selection of species.
(PREHISTORIC TIMES. AUSTRALIAN)