When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth

ENG 3460
Fall 2001

Imagine a world where giant squids were prey for even larger sea creatures. Imagine a world where mammals were rarely bigger than a rodent. Imagine a world where grass and humans didn’t exist. Imagine a world where creatures ranging from two feet to a hundred and fifty feet in height munched on cycads, ferns, and magnolia leaves. It sounds too far-fetched to be real, but sixty million years ago it was a fact. This world of dinosaurs (and other mysterious inhabitants of Earth) is one that has fascinated people for nearly two hundred years, and is one that is explored in the following three books: Monster Dinosaur, by Daniel Cohen; Living with Dinosaurs, by Patricia Lauber and Douglas Henderson; and An Alphabet of Dinosaurs, by Peter Dodson – three books, covering the same material, but in vastly different ways.

The first book mentioned above, Monster Dinosaur, is a chapter book and covers its material in-depth. It would be a good book for older readers, perhaps fourth grade and up, who really have an interest in learning about dinosaurs. It explores in some detail the history of paleontology, the first dinosaur fossils found, the beginnings of the American paleontology movement, and even the processes involved in the discovery of a new fossil (such as who gets to name it, etc.). Of particular interest was the way in which Monster Dinosaur discussed the 19th and early 20th century views of dinosaurs, and explained quite clearly why most scientists believed that dinosaurs were not lizards. Subsequent chapters examined a few of the more prevalent theories regarding the extinction of the dinosaurs (including some surprising ones), as well as the image of dinosaurs in literary and cinematic works. Overall, Daniel Cohen presented a thorough yet interesting overview of the study of dinosaurs.

Next is Lauber and Henderson’ Living with Dinosaurs, a picture book. Unlike Cohen’s interesting but objective view of dinosaurs, Lauber and Henderson pull the reader right into the prehistoric world they’re studying, by using the second person “you” as well as setting actions and events in present tense. The first sentence on the first page manages this effectively with: “Picture yourself going back through time…” (Lauber and Henderson 2). Living with Dinosaurs is much shorter in length than Monster Dinosaur, and as such is less in-depth; also, it is obviously geared towards a younger audience. Living with Dinosaurs examines three areas if prehistoric life: the sea, the flatlands, and the highlands. In each category, several species are named, and their physical features are described. Also given are the abilities that each of these creatures have; for instance, whether they can easily dive thirty feet, fight off an enemy with its strong tail, or gobble a giant squid. While this is interesting, it does begin to get repetitive as one species after another is listed and described. Aside from the names of the dinosaurs, the language is quite easy to understand, and the illustrations are good representations of what these dinosaurs might have looked like.

Finally, there is Dodson’s alphabet book, An Alphabet of Dinosaurs. Compared to the previous two books, Dodson’s picture book is the simplest, yet possibly the most interesting. From A to Z, a new dinosaur is presented with each letter of the alphabet. Along with just the name of the dinosaur, however, information is also presented. For example, the letter “A”: “Ankylosaurus was a well-protected dinosaur. It had bony plates as tough as armor under its skin” (Dodson 2). That’s not all. Each entry has a diagram of that particular dinosaur’s skeleton, as well as a large painting of what the dinosaur might have actually looked like. The information is limited to the strictly physical. There is nothing regarding whether or not dinosaurs are lizards, as in Monster Dinosaur. There is also no information regarding the nesting patterns of highland dinosaurs, as in Living with Dinosaurs. What An Alphabet of Dinosaurs does have in common with Cohen’s book, but not Lauber and Henderson’s, is a general history of dinosaurs. However, Dodson’s information is limited to explaining what exactly he is presenting with his book.

In conclusion, all three of the above-examined books are good sources of information on dinosaurs. However, the three books have different levels of complexity, and therefore are better suited to different age groups. Cohen’s is a long chapter book, contains a lot of varied information, and has relatively few illustrations. Lauber and Henderson’s has plenty of large illustrations of prehistoric landscapes, as well as dinosaurs, and focuses mainly on describing the main facts surrounding a particular species (i.e. height, weight, speed, etc.). Dodson’s is the simplest of the three books, as alphabet books are, and presents only a few facts per page. Despite their differences, all three books have the power to open a child’s hunger for knowledge about this fascinating period in history. Imagine…a world where dinosaurs roamed the Earth.