Dinosaurs!: My First Book About Carnivores

by George Blasing

Meet the meat-eating carnivores!―a dinosaur exploration book for kids ages 4 to 8 Did you know a Tyrannosaurus rex had an infectious bite? Or that the Guanlong could regrow its teeth like sharks do today? Dinosaurs were some of the most fascinating animals to ever walk the Earth―and some of the coolest dinos around were meat-eaters! From the massively long and tall Spinosaurus to the five-fingered, night-hunting Eoraptor, Dinosaurs! My First Book About Carnivores gets up close and personal with the clawed carnivores of the Mesozoic Era. Packed with amazing dinosaur facts and awesome illustrations, this book will uncover everything there is to know about these prehistoric predators. Dinosaurs! My First Book About Carnivores Set your time machine to the Mesozoic Era and walk alongside the carnivores with Dinosaurs!

63 pages, Paperback

Published June 2, 2020

Reviews

[Herman Diaz · Rating 1 out of 5]

More of the same old Blasing ( www.amazon.com/review/R27SC99ROOM98I/... ): 1/5

Short version: Remember what I said about Dixon ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3748558779 )? The same goes for Blasing. However, even Dixon's worst dino book (I.e. "If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today") isn't as terrible as Blasing's "Dinosaurs! My First Book About Carnivores" (henceforth DM) & "Dinosaurs! My First Book About Herbivores". If you want a good children's dino book with a lot of diversity & an emphasis on diet, get Bonner's "Dining With Dinosaurs: A Tasty Guide to Mesozoic Munching" (which I reviewed: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3507230419 ).

Long version: Read on.

Based on what I've read, Blasing is a nice guy ( http://empyricaltales.blogspot.com/20... ), but a bad source of dino info. As you may remember, I reviewed "Dinosaur George and the Paleonauts: Raptor Island" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3508825433 ) &, before that, compared another terrible book to "Jurassic Fight Club" ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3484890895 ). The Paleonauts series never went anywhere after 2013, so I thought Blasing gave up writing books. Unfortunately, he didn't. In this review, I list the 4 major problems with DM.

1) As expected for a Blasing book, DM's writing is annoyingly hyperbolic (E.g. See the Blasing quote) & repetitive (E.g. The fact that most tetanurans had 3 fingers/claws per hand &/or stiff tails is stated in 9 out of 25 tetanuran profiles). It's also annoyingly generic, partly because of the repetition, & partly because of the lack of diversity, especially among maniraptorans: All 4 are eudromaeosaurs &, despite "a fair degree of anatomical variation" ( http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/20... ), mostly described as small, fast, bird-like pack-hunters with curved foot claws, stiff tails, & feathers; Microraptorians, unenlagiines, halzskaraptorines, troodonts, oviraptorosaurs, & alvarezsaurs are completely ignored. The repetition & genericness could've been avoided with a good glossary or cladogram that clearly defines the major theropod groups.

2) As expected for a Blasing book, DM is very hit-&-miss in terms of getting the facts straight.* There's an average of at least 4 or 5 factual errors per page in DM, a 68 page book. This is especially apparent in the Deinonychus profile. More specifically, it's claimed that Deinonychus "used the deadly curved claws on its feet to slice open its prey" (It didn't, as indicated by Fowler et al. 2011), that "its jaws were not very strong, so it used its hands to tear off pieces of meat" (They were & it didn't, as indicated by Gignac et al. 2010 & Fowler et al. 2011), that "its tail was so stiff, it couldn't even wiggle it" (It wasn't, as indicated by Persons & Currie 2012), that it ate plant-eating dinos "of all sizes" (As a mid-size predator, it obviously didn't), & that it lived in Utah (It didn't as far as we currently know) while ignoring Montana, Oklahoma, & Wyoming.

3) As expected for a Blasing book, DM is very poorly-illustrated. I can't overstate how much I dislike looking at the Durantes's paleoart. It's 2003 Pixel-shack bad ( https://web.archive.org/web/201305210... ), which is especially apparent in the following ways:
-1st, see the Holtz quote. Then, compare the preview pics featuring T. rex, Eoraptor, Compsognathus, Cryolophosaurus, Gallimimus, & Baryonyx to Hartman's skeletals ( www.skeletaldrawing.com/skeletal-index ).
-The scaly-skinned Compsognathus & Gallimimus alone should disqualify DM from being recommended as an educational book. Put another way, to paraphrase Holtz, "depicting a [non-tyrannosaurid coelurosaur] without feathers[...]would simply be antiscientific."**
-To quote Witton ( http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/20... ), "although other illustrators have copied Luis' once signature style of hyper-foreshortened dinosaurs, these imitators lack the flair and boldness of true Reyian foreshortening. Any artist can give you a faceful of gaping theropod, but only Luis will combine this with inflated air sacs, saturated colour schemes and some sort of crazy-complex integument." In this case, the Durantes are "these imitators". Don't take my word for it, though. Compare the front cover T. rex to any of Rey's foreshortened tyrannosaurids & see for yourself.
-The Durantes aren't just bad at anatomy & foreshortening, but also coloring (I.e. Google "Vibrance VS Saturation", which might as well be, "Rey's colors VS the Durantes's colors").
-It's also worth mentioning that at least some of the Durantes's dinos are shameless rip-offs of more famous reconstructions (E.g. Raul Martin's Concavenator).

4) Despite Blasing's many claims to the contrary, including on page 64 & the back cover of DM, he is NOT a paleontologist ( https://svpow.com/2010/11/12/tutorial... ). To quote Jura ( https://reptilis.net/2008/09/14/jfc-l... ), "qualifications are not what bug me about Mr. Blasing. It’s the fact that he presents himself as being equivalent to the scientists he interviews[...]So when Mr. Blasing spouts off something patently wrong like “dromaeosaurs could breathe through their bones,” or “megalodon was the size of a jumbo jet,” the audience at home will come away accepting that as a fact[...]he is impersonating a professional in the field, and in the process, he is misleading the public when he talks so matter of factly about some of his subjects." In other words, DM is authored by a non-expert who, in this case, neither collaborated with experts nor did enough up-to-date personal research. As indicated by my You review ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3515814498 ), there's no excuse for that.

*Thank goodness for Molina-Pérez/Larramendi's "Dinosaur Facts and Figures: The Theropods and Other Dinosauriformes". You'd think it had been made specifically for fact-checking DM. 1 of my only non-editing gripes is that not every species comes with specific info about when they lived (E.g. Some come with "lower Maastrichtian, ca. 72.1–69 Ma", while others from the same time only come with "lUC" [late Upper Cretaceous]).

**I brought this up twice when questioning/commenting on Jurassic Jabber's DM recommendation, only for it to be ignored ( www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/SD-... ).

Quoting Blasing: "Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus were two deadly giant carnivores. Ceratosaurus had a blade on its nose, a horn over each eye, and long, thin upper teeth that were perfect for slicing into prey."

Quoting Holtz ( www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/SD-... ): "Paleoart is, admittedly, a difficult enterprise: after all, its subject matter is long dead, and science can never expect to know very much about the creaturers' external surfaces or, for that matter, any of their other perishable features. Nevertheless, there is one inviolate rule of dinosaur restoration: if the known fossil skeleton conflicts with the shape of the reconstruction, the reconstruction must be wrong. That rule gives the casual reader at least a fighting chance of separating the wheat from the chaff: distinguishing books that depict restorations consistent with fossil specimens from books that have more in common with medieval bestiaries, conjured from rumor and imagination alone. One reliable clue that a book belongs to the former group is the inclusion of drawings or photographs of the fossil skeletons on which the restorations are based."

[Conny Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Dinosaurs are some of the most amazing animals that ever lived,” the beginning states in “Dinosaur George” Blasing’s book, Dinosaurs! My First Book about Carnivores.

~ What ~
This sixty-eight-page paperback targets children ages four to eight years old who enjoy educational books, especially if they involve dinosaurs. With no profanity or too scary scenes, over thirty carnivores are explained with well-drawn, expressive illustrations. The ending has a glossary, index, and biographies on the author and illustrators.

After an introduction page about what carnivores are and the period they lived, colorful artwork is on the left side of the page with the name and pronunciation of the dinosaur on the right side, followed by a descriptive paragraph, highlighted facts, and information on its length, height, weight, when, where, eating habits, and animal comparison.

~ Why ~
Our three-year-old grandson has a thing about dinosaurs, able to tell you what kind they are, so this is a timely book for him. I like the information on the creatures and their uniqueness. Adding the color-coded Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods are helpful for older children.

Some interesting facts about carnivores are:
The Coelophysis was the fastest animal.
TheCryolophosuarus was one of the largest.
The Megalosaurus has a strong neck.
The Gallimimus swallowed small stones for digestion.
The Deinocheirus had small but thick claws for digging.

~ Why Not ~
Young children may be frightened by some of the depictions, especially those involving sharp teeth. Some may find there is limited information, but it may be acceptable for the age group. Beginner readers may be frustrated with the two- and three-syllable words.

~ Wish ~
Being a Christian, I wish the book did not promote the earth being hundreds of millions years old.

~ Want ~
If your child is fascinated by cool-looking creatures such as dinosaurs and wants to learn a thing or two, this would be an interesting and educational read.

Thanks to Callisto Publisher’s Club and the authors for this complimentary that I am under no obligation to review.

[Renee Knoblauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a neat book to give a kid who is crazy about dinosaurs. The book is fully illustrated with colorful pictures.

It has a pronunciation of the dinosaurs name to make it easy to say each ones name. Each of the 30 dinosaurs you will have information about its length, height, weight, when, where, what it ate, and it compares the size of the dinosaur to something we can relate to like a house cat, SUV, whale, and other relatable items. Each dinosaur has a two page spread and gives some brief information and some facts, or possible things that they thing about the dinosaurs profile.

The book also talks about the different periods; Triassic Period, Jurassic Period, and Cretaceous Period. With that comes the millions of years. I personally don’t believe that but more of a Biblical Perspective. Which for me is okay as it is a teaching opportunity for your kids. Regardless of my beliefs this is a really nice book on dinosaurs that even though I received it for free I would buy it. It’s fun and full of facts that kids who like dinosaurs would enjoy.

I received a copy of this product in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Tom Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your child (or you for that matter) is interesting in dinosaurs, especially those that were carnivores, like the T-Rex, then you have found the perfect book. This colorful book is ideal for the budding Paleontologist who is excited about studying these marvelous creatures from a by-gone era.

The author and illustrators have created a graphic and informative book which will not only entertain but educate anyone who reads through these pages. The pictures are very vivid. They capture the latest understanding of what these creatures were like and where they lived. The information paints a word picture which helps not only put the animals in perspective but also gives helpful insight into what they did and the interchange they might have had with the world in which they lived.

Upon request, the publisher, with no preset conditions, sent me a copy of the book to review.

[Lecy Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have a kid who loves dinosaurs, this would be a great book to add to their shelf. This book features many early carnivorous creatures, divided into the periods in which they lived. Each dino biography shares a few facts along with the stats of each - its length, height, weight, where it could be found, and what it ate. While it looks like the book is geared to younger children, there are a lot of big words that they might need help with. Otherwise, it looks like the perfect little encyclopedia of the world's earliest carnivores. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[SOMDReigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinosaurs! My First Book About Carnivores is packed with amazing dinosaur facts and awesome illustrations. Includes the dinosaurs profiles (length, height, weight, when it existed, where it existed, what it ate, and a size comparison) wonderful full-page illustrations, pronunciation, and interesting facts. Dinosaurs are sorted into the three different time periods (Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous). A glossary is included. Very easy to understand and not overwhelming. This is one of the best dinosaur books I’ve read. A keeper for sure!
Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books (May 22, 2020)
ARC provided by Publisher via Callisto Publishing Club

[Cover Lover Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an information-packed book of dinosaur facts for kids 4-8 years old. A colorful two-page profile is presented for a variety of these meat-eating reptiles, revealing sizes, habitats, when they lived, and what they ate.

There are full-page illustrations for each of the 30 dinosaurs depicted. A wonderful learning tool for young scientists!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERDICT: A beautiful book with a lot of data, though a couple of extra elements would have improved it.

my full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/06/13/...

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy.

Great for kids and if you take the time to read it out loud you can make an extra fun experience as you all learn a little more.