What do you think?
Rate this book
The Big Book of Dinosaurs
Vibrant illustrations and humorous cartoons bring new life to the fascinating world of dinosaurs, in a big book filled with amazing and fun dinosaur facts.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
David Glover
340 books27 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 6, 2020
The GINO of dino books ( www.amazon.com/review/R152NTPSAWTGUX/... ): 1/5
You know how the Godzilla of the 1998 movie "is commonly called G.I.N.O. (Godzilla In Name Only)[...]to distinguish it from the "real" Godzilla" ( https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... )? Despite its title, Jenkins' "Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs" (henceforth BG) is nothing like Watson's childhood classic or the remakes by Elting (which is decent) & Bakker (which is the best natural history of dinos for kids: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3526058137 ). In this review, I list the 3 main reasons why BG is the GINO of dino books.
1) While the Watson, Elting, & Bakker books are all natural histories of dinos with a chronological format, BG is basically just another "Dinosaur (DK Eyewitness Books)" wannabe: For 1, there are many sidebars scattered all over each chapter with no apparent rhyme or reason; For another, there are many 2-page chapters scattered all over BG with no apparent rhyme or reason.
2) Remember what I said about Schwabacher's "The Magic School Bus Flies with the Dinosaurs" (See reason #1: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3492121242 )? The same mostly goes for BG in terms of text & writing. In fact, "How fossils form" on page 6 of BG is basically just a wordier version of "THE STORY OF FOSSILS". Furthermore, not only does BG avoid using the word "evolution", but it synonymizes "developed" with "evolved" ( www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/04... ).
3) Remember what I said about Theodorou's "I Wonder Why Triceratops Had Horns" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3493788414 )? The same mostly goes for BG in terms of paleoart. In reference to BG's "more realistic reconstructions", this is especially apparent in the abominable T. rex & the outdated Brachiosaurus on the alternative cover. The former is so abominable, in fact, that there was a "Caption Competition" making fun of it as such ( https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2012... ).
You know how the Godzilla of the 1998 movie "is commonly called G.I.N.O. (Godzilla In Name Only)[...]to distinguish it from the "real" Godzilla" ( https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... )? Despite its title, Jenkins' "Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs" (henceforth BG) is nothing like Watson's childhood classic or the remakes by Elting (which is decent) & Bakker (which is the best natural history of dinos for kids: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3526058137 ). In this review, I list the 3 main reasons why BG is the GINO of dino books.
1) While the Watson, Elting, & Bakker books are all natural histories of dinos with a chronological format, BG is basically just another "Dinosaur (DK Eyewitness Books)" wannabe: For 1, there are many sidebars scattered all over each chapter with no apparent rhyme or reason; For another, there are many 2-page chapters scattered all over BG with no apparent rhyme or reason.
2) Remember what I said about Schwabacher's "The Magic School Bus Flies with the Dinosaurs" (See reason #1: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3492121242 )? The same mostly goes for BG in terms of text & writing. In fact, "How fossils form" on page 6 of BG is basically just a wordier version of "THE STORY OF FOSSILS". Furthermore, not only does BG avoid using the word "evolution", but it synonymizes "developed" with "evolved" ( www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/04... ).
3) Remember what I said about Theodorou's "I Wonder Why Triceratops Had Horns" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3493788414 )? The same mostly goes for BG in terms of paleoart. In reference to BG's "more realistic reconstructions", this is especially apparent in the abominable T. rex & the outdated Brachiosaurus on the alternative cover. The former is so abominable, in fact, that there was a "Caption Competition" making fun of it as such ( https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2012... ).
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review