An Alphabet of Dinosaurs

by Peter Dodson, Wayne Barlowe (Illustrator), Michael Meaker (Illustrator)

Describes and illustrates 26 familiar and unusual dinosaurs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Dinosaurs, Picture Books, Childrens, Science, Palaeontology

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Emily Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous illustrations. I did not know how to pronounce many of the dinosaur names so I felt a little silly reading them out loud. The kids were interested in it till probably around the dinosaur with an M then they wanted a different book. Fun for a read. The information provided is not that informative but was interesting.

[Anna Sommer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"An Alphabet of Dinosaurs" is a great book that goes through the alphabet with a bunch of different kinds of dinosaurs, pretty obvious concept. However, it is such a great book. I know so many kids, boys and girls, who are fascinated by dinosaurs, but I, and them for the most part, only know a few names of dinosaurs and then we categorize every dinosaur that looks similar as that one type. This book goes through so many different types and gives great fun facts abut each one. The illustrations seem to be very well researched and are very good, detailed drawings. They do not look like cartoons at all, they look like pictures from a museum or scientific journal. This book is such a great option for all age groups. It's fun for a science read aloud for primary students, but even though it's an ABC book, it is jam packed with information for students interested in dinosaurs in the intermediate grades. And honestly, I don't think I've been in one room of 10 or more kids without at least one that wants to be a paleontologist when they grow up. This book was a hidden gem and I think it would be a hit in any elementary classroom!

[Enn Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

It pains me to give this a three star. But the information is dated. And the “we may never know” attitude isn’t inspiring to young readers at all. Many things the author says will forever be a mystery have been solved in the 23 years since this book was published. Our image of dinosaurs has also greatly changed in that time so the beginning prompts you to believe this won’t be the archaic man-eater pics of the past, yet it is exactly that.
There were a few paintings I enjoyed, but not many. The concept is great. But the execution is poor and the information is dated.

[Shane Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations and neat little descriptions.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's kind of dated, but I love the Wayne D. Barlowe illustrations.

[Larysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an alphabet picture book. Each page and letter has a different dinosaur. It had great pictures and a bunch of cool dinosaurs (26 to be exact). This book would be great to learn more about dinosaurs but would not be a good way for students to learn the alphabet. The names of the dinosaur are too difficult for young students to be able to easily connect the names with the letters of the alphabet.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realized that I needed a dinosaur identification book for my five-year-old son, when I couldn't identify one of the three dinosaurs on a T-shirt that he wore recently. I guess in actually it's me that needs the dinosaur identification guide, so that I can better answer his questions.
This is a beautifully illustrated book with 26 dinosaurs to study (let's see...26 letters in the alphabet. Yeah, that works out.) At least there is no Buttasaurus in this particular kid's book.

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated picture book. when I was a kid I used to take it out from the library just to look at the pictures, and it was fun to finally get to read it. The way the dinosaurs are depicted are rather outdated, but the illustrations are still lovely to look at.

[Dragon Is In Her Book Cave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cool paleoart but super dated info.

[Lisa Stuve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dinosaurs