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Graveyards of the Dinosaurs
Investigating the prehistoric world—from the Gobi desert in the heart of Mongolia to the Valley of the Moon in Argentina to the Provincial Park in Canada—this fascinating exploration teaches children about dinosaurs as they discover fossilized remains and skeletal structures. Colorful and accurate illustrations and stunning photographs show archaeologists at work as they piece together the factors that led to the extinction of Earth’s most fascinating reptiles. Sidebars reveal information about paleontologists and their excavations, making this a comprehensive, educational, and exciting resource about the creatures that ruled the Earth millions of years ago.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 13, 2024
A series of dino-related events ( www.amazon.com/review/R2PGR6JLPSI52Y/... ): 5/5
Remember what I said about Brusatte's "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" & "The Age of Dinosaurs" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/4708284320 )? Tanaka's "Graveyards of the Dinosaurs" (henceforth GD), while not a natural history per se, is similar in that it combines field stories with day-in-the-life stories, but in ways that work better. In this review, I list those ways.
1) GD begins with a Prologue describing Roy Chapman Andrews, whose "story inspired many young paleontologists to continue his adventure[...&...]discover some remarkable things not only about how dinosaurs died, but about how they lived" (I.e. The overarching theme of GD). GD then continues with 3 middle chapters, each of which begins by describing a paleontologist (I.e. Norell, Currie, & Sereno, all of whom consulted on GD), his then recent discoveries, & how they connect to GD's theme. My only related gripe is a few weird bits in the writing (E.g. On page 38, it's stated that T. rex is "more advanced than both Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus", but not explained how).
2) Each of GD's middle chapters ends by telling a day-in-the-life dino story based on that paleontologist's then recent discoveries (I.e. Oviraptor, Centrosaurus, & Herrerasaurus). This reminds me of how "Evolving Planet" is laid out, but with the paleontologist descriptions being the "homework" parts of the middle chapters & the dino stories being the rewards (See the Ben quote). GD then ends with an Epilogue describing the end-Cretaceous extinction, how the earth & its life changed over time (which helps put the stories in context), & 19 "[then] new dinosaur finds around the world". I especially like that it includes a reminder that dino-related knowledge is important not just for knowledge's sake (See the Tanaka quote).
3) GD is mostly illustrated by Barnard, Hallett (E.g. See the front cover), Sibbick, & Skrepnick: The paleoartwork of Hallett, Sibbick, & Skrepnick is great at using "balance, composition, perspective, and color in concert with factual information to create riveting images of the past that capture the interest and imagination of a very wide audience" (See Lanzendorf's "Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art: The Lanzendorf Collection"); Barnard's GD work, while overall not as good as the others', is still mostly very good; In fact, some of the former reminds me of the latter in terms of balance/composition/perspective/color, differing only in degree; I especially like Barnard's Oviraptor on page 15 ( https://chasmosaurs.com/2022/03/10/vi... ). My only related gripe is McMaster's diagrams & maps (E.g. His Oviraptor on page 13 looks like a sock puppet with Barnard's Oviraptor colors).
I recommend reading GD in conjunction with other, more recent books, especially Chuang/Yang's "Age Of Dinosaurs" (which tells day-in-the-life Oviraptor, Centrosaurus, & Herrerasaurus stories that are mostly accurate by modern standards).
Quoting Ben ( https://extinctmonsters.net/2015/01/1... ): "Visitors are more focused and more inclined to read signs carefully early in the exhibit, so the developers used the introductory rooms to cover challenging concepts like the origins of life and the mechanisms of speciation. This is the “homework” part of the exhibit, and the narrow corridors and limited sightlines keep visitors engaged with the content, without being tempted to run ahead. Once visitors reach the Mesozoic and the dinosaurs, however, the space opens up. Among the dinosaur mounts, visitors are can choose what they wish to view, and in what order. This serves as a reward for putting up with the challenging material up front."
Quoting Tanaka: "In the end, it is not the fact that dinosaurs are gone that interests so many people. What fascinates us about dinosaurs is the way they lived. They were peaceful browsers and vicious killers. They looked as weird as aliens and as familiar as garden lizards. They grew to almost impossible sizes, with killing claws and teeth more frightening than any horror movie has shown us. They thundered over the land, preyed on each other, ate monstrous amounts of vegetation, yet somehow left the earth intact for 165 million years. No wonder we think they may have something to teach us."
Remember what I said about Brusatte's "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" & "The Age of Dinosaurs" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/4708284320 )? Tanaka's "Graveyards of the Dinosaurs" (henceforth GD), while not a natural history per se, is similar in that it combines field stories with day-in-the-life stories, but in ways that work better. In this review, I list those ways.
1) GD begins with a Prologue describing Roy Chapman Andrews, whose "story inspired many young paleontologists to continue his adventure[...&...]discover some remarkable things not only about how dinosaurs died, but about how they lived" (I.e. The overarching theme of GD). GD then continues with 3 middle chapters, each of which begins by describing a paleontologist (I.e. Norell, Currie, & Sereno, all of whom consulted on GD), his then recent discoveries, & how they connect to GD's theme. My only related gripe is a few weird bits in the writing (E.g. On page 38, it's stated that T. rex is "more advanced than both Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus", but not explained how).
2) Each of GD's middle chapters ends by telling a day-in-the-life dino story based on that paleontologist's then recent discoveries (I.e. Oviraptor, Centrosaurus, & Herrerasaurus). This reminds me of how "Evolving Planet" is laid out, but with the paleontologist descriptions being the "homework" parts of the middle chapters & the dino stories being the rewards (See the Ben quote). GD then ends with an Epilogue describing the end-Cretaceous extinction, how the earth & its life changed over time (which helps put the stories in context), & 19 "[then] new dinosaur finds around the world". I especially like that it includes a reminder that dino-related knowledge is important not just for knowledge's sake (See the Tanaka quote).
3) GD is mostly illustrated by Barnard, Hallett (E.g. See the front cover), Sibbick, & Skrepnick: The paleoartwork of Hallett, Sibbick, & Skrepnick is great at using "balance, composition, perspective, and color in concert with factual information to create riveting images of the past that capture the interest and imagination of a very wide audience" (See Lanzendorf's "Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art: The Lanzendorf Collection"); Barnard's GD work, while overall not as good as the others', is still mostly very good; In fact, some of the former reminds me of the latter in terms of balance/composition/perspective/color, differing only in degree; I especially like Barnard's Oviraptor on page 15 ( https://chasmosaurs.com/2022/03/10/vi... ). My only related gripe is McMaster's diagrams & maps (E.g. His Oviraptor on page 13 looks like a sock puppet with Barnard's Oviraptor colors).
I recommend reading GD in conjunction with other, more recent books, especially Chuang/Yang's "Age Of Dinosaurs" (which tells day-in-the-life Oviraptor, Centrosaurus, & Herrerasaurus stories that are mostly accurate by modern standards).
Quoting Ben ( https://extinctmonsters.net/2015/01/1... ): "Visitors are more focused and more inclined to read signs carefully early in the exhibit, so the developers used the introductory rooms to cover challenging concepts like the origins of life and the mechanisms of speciation. This is the “homework” part of the exhibit, and the narrow corridors and limited sightlines keep visitors engaged with the content, without being tempted to run ahead. Once visitors reach the Mesozoic and the dinosaurs, however, the space opens up. Among the dinosaur mounts, visitors are can choose what they wish to view, and in what order. This serves as a reward for putting up with the challenging material up front."
Quoting Tanaka: "In the end, it is not the fact that dinosaurs are gone that interests so many people. What fascinates us about dinosaurs is the way they lived. They were peaceful browsers and vicious killers. They looked as weird as aliens and as familiar as garden lizards. They grew to almost impossible sizes, with killing claws and teeth more frightening than any horror movie has shown us. They thundered over the land, preyed on each other, ate monstrous amounts of vegetation, yet somehow left the earth intact for 165 million years. No wonder we think they may have something to teach us."
April 17, 2016
A wonderful exploration of the more recent discoveries of fossils which have told us so much more about the dinosaurs, how they lived and interacted.
A lot of complex science for a kids book but my daughter loves it!
A lot of complex science for a kids book but my daughter loves it!
May 17, 2009
I liked all the redness and the deathness and thats how it got the title GRAVEYARDS OF THE DINOSAURS
January 15, 2015
Loved this book when I was little. Very small and easy read, even for a child.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews