Laura Butler & Carey Scott: 'Dinosaurium'

Presenting the most contemporary theories about dinosaurs in ten miniature books and one large book, there’s a lot to explore here. The large book makes a texturally interesting container for the smaller books. It’s possible to read all eleven in two hours, and interesting enough that it’s easily possible to do so. This book is aimed at kids in the thick of the dinosaur phase, or those who’ve never outgrown it.

No dinosaur has changed more in recent history than Tyrannosaurus Rex. Remember the slow, upright, tail-dragging-on-ground dinobot from the original ‘80s Transformers cartoon series? Compare that with the fast horizontal monster in ‘90s Jurassic Park. Dinosaurium explores the new understandings of the ancient past revealed by modern advances in technology.

Dino skin is no longer alligator green or snake brown. One book is composed only of color swatches to illustrate the different types of dinosaur skins, from striped feathers to hardened armor studs. A flipbook gives movement to different skeletons in a museum as if brought to life. Illustrations show Utahraptor as no longer a thin-necked lizard, but a bird-creature with ostrich-like clawed legs. In images, cartoons, and illustrations, Dinosaurium adequately conveys the excitement of imagining what new understandings future technologies will bring to this fascinating field.

Several of the smallest books, however, are slightly too small for adult hands. In all, they may be more interesting to the amateur paleontologist than the expert, unless the expert is below 120 centimeters tall.

Published 6th September 2007 by DK.

Written by W. L. Clark.