Colorful World of Dinosaurs

Gr 1-4--The driving insight behind this volume is that while large terrestrial animals surviving today are often muted shades of brown and gray, it is just as likely that prehistoric dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and ichthyosaurs were as brightly colored as their modern relatives in the reptile and bird classifications. The book begins with a brief overview of the different taxonomies of dinosaurs, as well as the time periods in which they lived. With a background in ornithology, Sewell provides a vibrant interpretation of recent paleontological discoveries. The work includes discoveries as recent as the Dracoraptor found in Wales in 2014. The watercolor illustrations do not seek the hyper-realism of other encyclopedic works on dinosaurs, and the more cartoonish style better suits the initial challenge to readers, that we should imagine for ourselves what dinosaurs might have looked like, based on the fossil evidence available. One key inference includes the feather-covered Yutyrannus discovered in China, a predecessor of the Tyrannosaurus rex, which opens up the possibility that the Tyrannosaurus also had feathers. Each illustrated dinosaur shines with personality, and Sewell humorously theorizes which ones were especially vicious or gentle or intelligent, based on their physical characteristics. VERDICT A bright addition to elementary nonfiction collections, and is sure to engage dinosaur lovers and novices alike.--Kelly Topita, Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD