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Prehistoric Actual Size
What is it like to come face-to-face with the ten-foot-tall terror bird? Or stare into the mouth of the largest meat eater ever to walk the earth? Can you imagine a millipede that is more than six feet long, or a dinosaur smaller than a chicken? In this “actual size” look at the prehistoric world, which includes two dramatic gatefolds, you’ll meet these awe-inspiring creatures, as well as many others.
36 pages, Hardcover
First published September 26, 2005
About the author
Steve Jenkins
159 books242 followersSteve was born in 1952 in Hickory, North Carolina. His father, who would become a physics professor and astronomer (and recently his co-author on a book about the Solar System), was in the military and, later, working on science degrees at several different universities. We moved often. Steve lived in North Carolina, Panama, Virginia, Kansas, and Colorado. Wherever he lived, he kept a menagerie of lizards, turtles, spiders, and other animals, collected rocks and fossils, and blew things up in his small chemistry lab.
Because he moved often, Steve didn't have a large group of friends, and he spent a lot of time with books. His parents read to him until he could read himself, and he became an obsessive reader.
His interest in science led me to believe that I'd be a scientist himself. At the last minute, he chose instead to go to art school in North Carolina, where he studied graphic design. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked in advertising and design, first in large firms and then with his wife, Robin Page, in their own small graphic design firm. Robin, also an author and illustrator, is his frequent collaborator — they've made sixteen children's books together.
Their daughter Page was born in 1986 and our son, Alec, two years later. They began reading to them when they were just a few months old, and Steve became interested in making children's books himself. My wife and I read to our two older children almost every night until hisdaughter was 12 or 13, long after they were reading on their own. It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.
In 1994 they moved to from New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where they work in a studio attached to their house, which was built in the 1880s and often functions as if it were still the 19th century.
Their youngest son, Jamie, was born in 1998. The questions his children asked over the years have been the inspiration for many of their books.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
Because he moved often, Steve didn't have a large group of friends, and he spent a lot of time with books. His parents read to him until he could read himself, and he became an obsessive reader.
His interest in science led me to believe that I'd be a scientist himself. At the last minute, he chose instead to go to art school in North Carolina, where he studied graphic design. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked in advertising and design, first in large firms and then with his wife, Robin Page, in their own small graphic design firm. Robin, also an author and illustrator, is his frequent collaborator — they've made sixteen children's books together.
Their daughter Page was born in 1986 and our son, Alec, two years later. They began reading to them when they were just a few months old, and Steve became interested in making children's books himself. My wife and I read to our two older children almost every night until hisdaughter was 12 or 13, long after they were reading on their own. It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.
In 1994 they moved to from New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where they work in a studio attached to their house, which was built in the 1880s and often functions as if it were still the 19th century.
Their youngest son, Jamie, was born in 1998. The questions his children asked over the years have been the inspiration for many of their books.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 22, 2018
Like Actual Size this book shows prehistoric life in scale. It was interesting to see the large and small compared, and the facts were interesting. The illustrations were good and used a collage technique. Both my children loved prehistoric life when small and I'm sure they would have loved this book.
September 30, 2024
REVIEW OF THE KINDLE EDITION
So yes, I have if truth be told not found this here Kindle edition of Steve Jenkins' Prehistoric Actual Size even remotely aesthetically pleasing to and for me and for that matter not even all that reader and user friendly either. And while indeed I do believe that the paper, that the dead tree editions of Prehistoric Actual Size, I likely would have much appreciated and perhaps even rather loved, with the Kindle rendering of Prehistoric Actual Size, showing the genuine, the true dimensions of the prehistoric animal species featured and presented, this just does not really work well at ALL, and it certainly has been and proven more frustrating and visually aggravating than in any manner even remotely stimulating and awe-inspiring (or eye-catching) and thus with certainly not much of a sense of magic and wonder, with mainly and generally just majorly huge visual annoyances at the choppy and sometimes even a bit washed out and blurry nature of the Kindle rendered illustrations (which is truly sad, considering how talented an artist Steve Jenkins is).
And honestly, the only reason why I was still considering a two star ranking for the Kindle edition of Prehistoric Actual Size (that is, for a short while, at least) is because Steve Jenkins' supplemental notes and details on each of the eighteen analysed and depicted animal species (and located at the back of the book), well these are most definitely both interesting and enlightening, educational, albeit the lack of a bibliography with suggestions for further reading is also more than a trifle frustrating and annoying at best and indeed a total intellectual and academic faux pas in my opinion (but considering that so much of the power and the aesthetic presence of Prehistoric Actual Size are supposed to rest with Steve Jenkins' animal illustrations, and that the featured species of prehistoric critters are supposedly shown and illustrated as they truly are size wise, sorry, but the Kindle edition is just not at all successful with regard to this, and is in fact, at least for and to me, to and for my eyes, woefully substandard and even sadly painful, feeling visually, aesthetically disjointed and fragmented and yes, therefore also totally frustrating).
Thus, while I do in fact tend to recommend Steve Jenkins' Prehistoric Actual Size as a book in and of itself (but indeed with the caveat that there is no included bibliographic material), I absolutely DO NOT IN ANY WAY even remotely suggest reading or considering the Kindle edition, as especially that which makes (or which should make) Prehistoric Actual Size so interesting and seemingly wonderful, namely the depictions of eighteen prehistoric animal species in their actual, in their genuinely authentic dimensions just does not really function even a tiny bit adequately as an e-book, as a Kindle download (is in other words truly and frustratingly a total epic failure digitally speaking). And this is also why upon a bit of personal reflection, my two star ranking of last night for Prehistoric Actual Size has now been downgraded to but one star (as I for one am also getting more than a bit sick and tired of substandard picture book renditions for the Kindle, and frankly, these do in my humble opinion rather massively abound, and it does at least to and for me often seem as though while there indeed are more and more picture books available on the Kindle, their formats, the way that illustrations are transferred, the size of the printed words often leave very much and sometimes even absolutely everything to be desired).
So yes, I have if truth be told not found this here Kindle edition of Steve Jenkins' Prehistoric Actual Size even remotely aesthetically pleasing to and for me and for that matter not even all that reader and user friendly either. And while indeed I do believe that the paper, that the dead tree editions of Prehistoric Actual Size, I likely would have much appreciated and perhaps even rather loved, with the Kindle rendering of Prehistoric Actual Size, showing the genuine, the true dimensions of the prehistoric animal species featured and presented, this just does not really work well at ALL, and it certainly has been and proven more frustrating and visually aggravating than in any manner even remotely stimulating and awe-inspiring (or eye-catching) and thus with certainly not much of a sense of magic and wonder, with mainly and generally just majorly huge visual annoyances at the choppy and sometimes even a bit washed out and blurry nature of the Kindle rendered illustrations (which is truly sad, considering how talented an artist Steve Jenkins is).
And honestly, the only reason why I was still considering a two star ranking for the Kindle edition of Prehistoric Actual Size (that is, for a short while, at least) is because Steve Jenkins' supplemental notes and details on each of the eighteen analysed and depicted animal species (and located at the back of the book), well these are most definitely both interesting and enlightening, educational, albeit the lack of a bibliography with suggestions for further reading is also more than a trifle frustrating and annoying at best and indeed a total intellectual and academic faux pas in my opinion (but considering that so much of the power and the aesthetic presence of Prehistoric Actual Size are supposed to rest with Steve Jenkins' animal illustrations, and that the featured species of prehistoric critters are supposedly shown and illustrated as they truly are size wise, sorry, but the Kindle edition is just not at all successful with regard to this, and is in fact, at least for and to me, to and for my eyes, woefully substandard and even sadly painful, feeling visually, aesthetically disjointed and fragmented and yes, therefore also totally frustrating).
Thus, while I do in fact tend to recommend Steve Jenkins' Prehistoric Actual Size as a book in and of itself (but indeed with the caveat that there is no included bibliographic material), I absolutely DO NOT IN ANY WAY even remotely suggest reading or considering the Kindle edition, as especially that which makes (or which should make) Prehistoric Actual Size so interesting and seemingly wonderful, namely the depictions of eighteen prehistoric animal species in their actual, in their genuinely authentic dimensions just does not really function even a tiny bit adequately as an e-book, as a Kindle download (is in other words truly and frustratingly a total epic failure digitally speaking). And this is also why upon a bit of personal reflection, my two star ranking of last night for Prehistoric Actual Size has now been downgraded to but one star (as I for one am also getting more than a bit sick and tired of substandard picture book renditions for the Kindle, and frankly, these do in my humble opinion rather massively abound, and it does at least to and for me often seem as though while there indeed are more and more picture books available on the Kindle, their formats, the way that illustrations are transferred, the size of the printed words often leave very much and sometimes even absolutely everything to be desired).
December 22, 2010
Steve Jenkins is truly a marvel. This book is a sequel to his Actual Size book, another book that’s well worth reading, as are all of his non-fiction science and nature picture books. I’ve read quite a few of them and have enjoyed all that I’ve read, and I’ve learned much from every single one.
I love how with this book the book itself is oversized; it’s really big. And then many of the pages fold out in order to have more page space, and even then, most of the time, only parts of animals are shown, all so that they can fit on the page in actual size. It’s fun and awe inspiring to see these creatures.
The extended notes section in the back of the book, which is mostly for older kids, is a huge portion of the book. For every animal covered in the book, there is an illustration of the entire animal and more in depth facts about each. I really appreciate how for each animal, and for prehistoric life in general, Jenkins tells what is known and some of the reasons why it is known and also what is speculation and what remains a mystery.
I love how with this book the book itself is oversized; it’s really big. And then many of the pages fold out in order to have more page space, and even then, most of the time, only parts of animals are shown, all so that they can fit on the page in actual size. It’s fun and awe inspiring to see these creatures.
The extended notes section in the back of the book, which is mostly for older kids, is a huge portion of the book. For every animal covered in the book, there is an illustration of the entire animal and more in depth facts about each. I really appreciate how for each animal, and for prehistoric life in general, Jenkins tells what is known and some of the reasons why it is known and also what is speculation and what remains a mystery.
February 26, 2020
Great book for the many budding paleontologists out there, or just for those who want a "wow" moment or two!
June 23, 2011
Reading this book to my daughter, I found myself placing my hands on the page very carefully, lest I snag my finger on a Baryonyx claw or accidentally touch the Very Large Cockroach. It's not that the illustrations are so terribly life-like. They are clearly pictures. It's just that the effect of seeing these creatures, or in most cases, bits of these creatures, at actual size is so startling. As I type this, I am cringing away from a millipede larger than my computer.
Sure, the view from within a Giganotosaurus mouth is striking, but it's the pictures of the creepy crawlies that get to me the most. Dinosaurs are supposed to be huge. Dragonflies have no business being larger than my cat.
And once you start thinking about the actual sizes of things, it's hard to stop. We have a private airport in our town, which means we often see small planes flying just overhead. A few days after reading this book, I spotted a biplane through the moon roof of my car, and for a moment, imagined it was a Quetzalcoatlus, a flying pterosaur with a wingspan of some 35 feet. Unsettling. But if you (or your preschooler) are fascinated with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, an awful lot of fun.
(Review originally posted at my blog-- Caterpickles: Scientific & Linguistic Engagement with a 4 Year Old Mind @ caterpickles.com)
Sure, the view from within a Giganotosaurus mouth is striking, but it's the pictures of the creepy crawlies that get to me the most. Dinosaurs are supposed to be huge. Dragonflies have no business being larger than my cat.
And once you start thinking about the actual sizes of things, it's hard to stop. We have a private airport in our town, which means we often see small planes flying just overhead. A few days after reading this book, I spotted a biplane through the moon roof of my car, and for a moment, imagined it was a Quetzalcoatlus, a flying pterosaur with a wingspan of some 35 feet. Unsettling. But if you (or your preschooler) are fascinated with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, an awful lot of fun.
(Review originally posted at my blog-- Caterpickles: Scientific & Linguistic Engagement with a 4 Year Old Mind @ caterpickles.com)
November 28, 2018
3.5 stars
Fun and informative. Full review here: https://www.theproblemsite.com/book-s...
Fun and informative. Full review here: https://www.theproblemsite.com/book-s...
December 14, 2023
Really enjoyable and engaging book. Math that doesn't feel like math!
November 16, 2009
Wow! This book is brilliant! The pictures are amazing! The pictures range from large and small animals with their actual size! Also, their is a lot details in the illustrations.As I began reading this book, I noticed the eyes of each animal that came in different sizes. Teaching Kindergarten, I know my students will enjoy this book! It's a great way for my students to see things for themselves at their actual size! I know they would love this book and wish these animals would be real!
At the end of the book it explains the dinosaurs information more into depth. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to others. I also noticed that Steve Jenkins has written a lot of books with Actual Size. Looking forward to reading those books!
At the end of the book it explains the dinosaurs information more into depth. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to others. I also noticed that Steve Jenkins has written a lot of books with Actual Size. Looking forward to reading those books!
June 19, 2008
This oversized book introduces you to 16 different prehistoric creatures with a one or two sentence description and a fantastc life sized depiction of what it may have looked like. The pictures are amazing! It looks like tissue paper, feathers, paint, and maybe some card stock. The terror bird was my favorite. Only his head and giant beak would fit on the two page spread...he was big enough to eat a horse!
Towards the end of the book it gets serious and explains how they came to their conclusions about the dinosaurs appearances and goes back over each creature with another paragraph of indepth info.
This is a very cool book.
Towards the end of the book it gets serious and explains how they came to their conclusions about the dinosaurs appearances and goes back over each creature with another paragraph of indepth info.
This is a very cool book.
August 30, 2012
This is a fascinating book about prehistoric animals, showing them (or at least parts of them) in actual size. I liked that the authors explained what we know (and what we have to guess) about what dinosaurs looked like. And I loved that each dinosaur was shown in its entirety at the end of the book, with a concise paragraph that offers additional information.
The book is simple, but fun; informative, but entertaining, too. We really enjoyed reading this book together and we will have to look for more books by Steve Jenkins at our local library.
The book is simple, but fun; informative, but entertaining, too. We really enjoyed reading this book together and we will have to look for more books by Steve Jenkins at our local library.
picture-books
August 11, 2022Storytime 50 kids ages 0-5
Book one (3-4 minutes): Dinosaurs Dinosaurs by Byron Barton
Song/rhyme/game one (3-4 minutes): Dino Ditty
Here’s tyrannosaurus just a stompin’ with his feet (stomp feet)
Singing “Dino ditty, ditty, dum ditty do.” (continue stomping, then clap)
Searchin’ for something good to eat (shade eyes and look)
Singin’ “Dino ditty, ditty, dum ditty do.” (stomp feet, then clap)
He’s big! (make a big motion, group repeats).
He’s strong! (flex arms, group repeats)
Won’t be hungry very long. (shake head)
“Dino ditty, ditty, dum ditty do…” (stomp feet, then clap)
Switch out dinosaur names, ankylosaurus, brachiosaurus, triceratops. Wag butt for ankylosaurus, stretch arms up for brachiosaurus, wag head for triceratops
Book two (3-4 minutes): Tyrannosaurus Wrecks! By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
Song/rhyme/game two (3-4 minutes): The Jellyfish Song by GoNoodle with ribbon bracelets
Book three (3-4 minutes): Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
Song/ rhyme/ game three (3-4 minutes): Dinosaur Measuring (differnt dinosaurs, measure out length with tape measurer. (Didn't go well kids got too excited, maybe for a smaller group)
Book Four (3-4 minutes): How do Dinosaurs Learn to Read by Jane Yolen
Special Signs: dinosaur, roar, egg, bite
Craft: https://csicdn.kiwico.com/v3/assets/b... (very popular)
Book one (3-4 minutes): Dinosaurs Dinosaurs by Byron Barton
Song/rhyme/game one (3-4 minutes): Dino Ditty
Here’s tyrannosaurus just a stompin’ with his feet (stomp feet)
Singing “Dino ditty, ditty, dum ditty do.” (continue stomping, then clap)
Searchin’ for something good to eat (shade eyes and look)
Singin’ “Dino ditty, ditty, dum ditty do.” (stomp feet, then clap)
He’s big! (make a big motion, group repeats).
He’s strong! (flex arms, group repeats)
Won’t be hungry very long. (shake head)
“Dino ditty, ditty, dum ditty do…” (stomp feet, then clap)
Switch out dinosaur names, ankylosaurus, brachiosaurus, triceratops. Wag butt for ankylosaurus, stretch arms up for brachiosaurus, wag head for triceratops
Book two (3-4 minutes): Tyrannosaurus Wrecks! By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
Song/rhyme/game two (3-4 minutes): The Jellyfish Song by GoNoodle with ribbon bracelets
Book three (3-4 minutes): Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
Song/ rhyme/ game three (3-4 minutes): Dinosaur Measuring (differnt dinosaurs, measure out length with tape measurer. (Didn't go well kids got too excited, maybe for a smaller group)
Book Four (3-4 minutes): How do Dinosaurs Learn to Read by Jane Yolen
Special Signs: dinosaur, roar, egg, bite
Craft: https://csicdn.kiwico.com/v3/assets/b... (very popular)
September 18, 2017
Summary: Open Prehistoric Actual Size and it will take you back in time to the pre-historic world where you will encounter many fascinating, but slightly scary creatures such as the Velociraptor and the Baryonyx. Steve Jenkins offers readers the chance to learn about these creatures and see images of them and the size they might have been at the time. Readers will be captivated by the thought of how big or small these creatures were.
Evaluation: Jenkins does a brilliant job of capturing the reader’s attention. The book is filled with striking images that each appear to have texture. The thought that the images may reflect the creature’s actual size is both terrifying and fascinating. I think all kids will be amazed by the images and descriptions that the author provides.
Teaching Idea: I would use this book as a way to begin to teach measurement. I would have the students use paperclips and count how many paperclips it takes to measure the dinosaur. I would also have the students compare the sizes. For examples, I would have the students compare the size of the spiny shark to the Diplocaulus.
Evaluation: Jenkins does a brilliant job of capturing the reader’s attention. The book is filled with striking images that each appear to have texture. The thought that the images may reflect the creature’s actual size is both terrifying and fascinating. I think all kids will be amazed by the images and descriptions that the author provides.
Teaching Idea: I would use this book as a way to begin to teach measurement. I would have the students use paperclips and count how many paperclips it takes to measure the dinosaur. I would also have the students compare the sizes. For examples, I would have the students compare the size of the spiny shark to the Diplocaulus.
April 15, 2018
Prehistoric Actual Size begins by depicting prehistoric animals or parts of animals as the actual size that they would be. Therefore, when an extremely large dinosaur is depicted, it may only show its claws or mouth. Along with each image is a caption that describes the image and the size of that animal. After all animals have been shown in actual size, the book expands on the background of each animal that was previously depicted. It uses topic relevant language and didn’t overly simply the text. The descriptions were in depth enough to give the reader an idea as to what they could’ve expected if they came across one of these animals A commonly unknown aspect of prehistoric creatures that I found beneficial to this boo was the incorporation of the fact that animals that existed in prehistoric times resemble animals that we see today such as common mammals and rodents.
Students would be very interested in reading this entire book. It is just the right length. By providing simple images with simple captions in the first few pages, the student is less likely to get overwhelmed by all of the words that further describe each animal towards the end of the book.
Students would be very interested in reading this entire book. It is just the right length. By providing simple images with simple captions in the first few pages, the student is less likely to get overwhelmed by all of the words that further describe each animal towards the end of the book.
November 29, 2018
I love the book Actual Size, and when I saw that Jenkins wrote a sequel featuring prehistoric animals (my longest obsession), I had to find it. The collage technique works beautifully for the illustrations, since there are obviously no photographs of these animals, and I appreciate that Jenkins included a note about how artists and paleontologists decide how to color and pattern illustrations of animals that only exist in the fossil record. The book has interesting facts about each animal as well as their length/height and date of existence. I shared the book with my second grade students and they were completely blown away at the size of the animals, large and small.
April 20, 2019
Casey Godinez’s book Review > Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins is a unique way to teach children facts about the Prehistoric world. Jenkins uses size as a way to demonstrate how big or small a particular prehistoric creature was. This book is incredibly informal but really informative. Jenkins uses the last couple of pages of display the entire prehistoric animal in its entirety while giving exciting information that kids will love. The illustrations in this book is an exceptional way to demonstrate the concepts of prehistoric world. I would recommend this book.
March 6, 2018
Picture/nonfiction: I can see this being great for fourth grade because they learn about conversions and comparisons!! This uses centimeters and meters to describe animals that we've never seen before!
June 12, 2018
How awesome to see what prehistoric creepy-crawlies, animals, and dinosaurs looked like in actual size! My three-year-old couldn't quite keep up with some of the language, so I recommend this book for five-year-olds and up.
April 20, 2019
I only wish it told us how all of them died. Were they similar endings or completely different? Considering the whole survival of the fitest, it seems kind of ironic that a good portion of the extinct ones were the largest of their kind.
January 9, 2024
Fascinating facts and beautiful illustrations to impress readers with the actual size of prehistoric animals or their body parts. Includes dinosaurs as nd other reptiles but also dragonfly and cockroaches
June 3, 2017
Give this to any dinosaur obsessed kid (or adult).
April 25, 2018
A very cool informational picture book about the real size of certain prehistoric animals. Some pages only include a small portion of the creature because it is so big!
Category: Informational
Category: Informational
February 11, 2019
This informational text is the sequel to "Actual Size." It shows prehistoric creatures in relation to you and your students.
November 26, 2020
Date Completed: November 5, 2020
Genre: Non-fiction
The Date: 11-5-20
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
Book Review: This book is engaging and students will discover actual sizes are for animals.
February 7, 2021
Bright, colorful pictures! My preschoolers LOVED it!
December 4, 2023
Everything this book said went against my Christian beliefs, so I did not enjoy this book at all. Every single page said these creatures existed millions of years ago, and I believe in creation.
December 13, 2025
Cute concept, interesting art style.
October 10, 2020
A fun picture book that gives kids an idea of how big some of the prehistoric animals they may have heard of really are. The illustrations are colorful and interesting. I didn't really like how the majority of the information was at the end of the book. I think it would have been better to put the individual animal's information on the page with its picture instead of all together at the end. The first book in this series was included in my children's literature textbook as an example of illustrations that reinforce text. It is easy to say a dinosaur was 6 feet long, but to actually show a picture of its head at actual size gets the fact across better than any numerical value could. :)
Read
July 6, 2012Jenkins, S. (2005). Prehistoric Actual Size. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
0618535780
Oh, Steve Jenkins.
I didn't realize it, but you've been at work for quite some time. Sitting in a corner, quietly shredding paper for your striking illustrations while the rest of us were wandering around.
Appetizer: In this picturebook, Jenkins uses his paper collages to show the actual size of a number of prehistoric creatures including a velociraptor, sea scorpion, diplocaulus, dragonfly, cockroach, millipede, giganotosaurus, etc.
I liked that Jenkins organizes the various creatures according to the number of hundred million years ago that they thrived.
Let's be honest here. These beasties have a lot of potential to be terrifying. They are the beasties of nightmares. When sharing this with early grade school kids, I think it'd be VERY important to remind students that these beasties no longer exist at the size pictured, that we should all be grateful that the millipede and cockroaches evolved to be much smaller. I know I'm very thankful for this. (Although, the cockroach could still go smaller and I wouldn't complain. I find the occasional dead one in the halls where my office is. I usually take pictures of them on my phone and send the images to my parents. Cause I'm an awesome daughter like that.)
To keep the illustrations interesting, Jenkins usually only shows a portion of the ancient beasties. In some cases, this includes only a head or a claw. This also helps to impress upon the reader the size of these creatures.
The text describing each animal in minimal, often only reinforcing the image that is being shown.
Dinner Conversation:
"Animals have lived on earth for hundreds of millions of years. Dragonflies the size of seagulls, meat-eating dinosaurs bigger than a bus, giant flying reptiles, fierce predatory birds eight feet tall--they all appeared, thrived for millions of years, and then died out as the world changed around them."
"Diplocaulus was a meat-eating amphibian. Its horns may have helped it glide through the water."
"This giant millipede had as many as thirty pairs of legs."
"Giganotosaurus may have been the largest predator that ever lived on land."
"The terror bird lived in South America. It was the largest predator of its time--big enough to eat a horse."
To Go with the Meal:
Prehistoric Actual Size can be used to help students understand the concept of prehistoric time (paying special attention to reinforce the idea that these big (and in a few cases small) beasties aren't wandering around the cities and suburbs looking for tasty kiddies to eat).
Looking at the illustrations, a teacher can encourage the students to think about how the creatures would feel to the touch, or could have them research the animals more thoroughly beginning with the glossary of animals at the end and moving to other books or online.
To go a creative route, middle grade students could pretend to have one of the animals as a pet. They could write a story describing how they would care for their prehistoric creature and in some cases keep the animal or other people safe.
Tasty Rating: !!!
0618535780
Oh, Steve Jenkins.
I didn't realize it, but you've been at work for quite some time. Sitting in a corner, quietly shredding paper for your striking illustrations while the rest of us were wandering around.
Appetizer: In this picturebook, Jenkins uses his paper collages to show the actual size of a number of prehistoric creatures including a velociraptor, sea scorpion, diplocaulus, dragonfly, cockroach, millipede, giganotosaurus, etc.
I liked that Jenkins organizes the various creatures according to the number of hundred million years ago that they thrived.
Let's be honest here. These beasties have a lot of potential to be terrifying. They are the beasties of nightmares. When sharing this with early grade school kids, I think it'd be VERY important to remind students that these beasties no longer exist at the size pictured, that we should all be grateful that the millipede and cockroaches evolved to be much smaller. I know I'm very thankful for this. (Although, the cockroach could still go smaller and I wouldn't complain. I find the occasional dead one in the halls where my office is. I usually take pictures of them on my phone and send the images to my parents. Cause I'm an awesome daughter like that.)
To keep the illustrations interesting, Jenkins usually only shows a portion of the ancient beasties. In some cases, this includes only a head or a claw. This also helps to impress upon the reader the size of these creatures.
The text describing each animal in minimal, often only reinforcing the image that is being shown.
Dinner Conversation:
"Animals have lived on earth for hundreds of millions of years. Dragonflies the size of seagulls, meat-eating dinosaurs bigger than a bus, giant flying reptiles, fierce predatory birds eight feet tall--they all appeared, thrived for millions of years, and then died out as the world changed around them."
"Diplocaulus was a meat-eating amphibian. Its horns may have helped it glide through the water."
"This giant millipede had as many as thirty pairs of legs."
"Giganotosaurus may have been the largest predator that ever lived on land."
"The terror bird lived in South America. It was the largest predator of its time--big enough to eat a horse."
To Go with the Meal:
Prehistoric Actual Size can be used to help students understand the concept of prehistoric time (paying special attention to reinforce the idea that these big (and in a few cases small) beasties aren't wandering around the cities and suburbs looking for tasty kiddies to eat).
Looking at the illustrations, a teacher can encourage the students to think about how the creatures would feel to the touch, or could have them research the animals more thoroughly beginning with the glossary of animals at the end and moving to other books or online.
To go a creative route, middle grade students could pretend to have one of the animals as a pet. They could write a story describing how they would care for their prehistoric creature and in some cases keep the animal or other people safe.
Tasty Rating: !!!
December 16, 2015
Summary: Prehistoric Actual Size, is an informational book about prehistoric creatures and shows images in the actual sizes. Some pictures show only a small part of the creature, because it is too big to fit on the page. The illustrations are very detailed and give students a great visual of what some prehistoric creatures actually looked like.
Genre: Informational Text, picture book
Classroom Use: I would use this as part of a text set for a science unit on animals. Students could read this independently to learn more about prehistoric animals, or use it to do research for a project.
Writing Traits:
Presentation: The illustrations in the book are very realistic and it is really fun for kids to see the actual sizes of different prehistoric creatures.
Word Choice: The book includes a lot of descriptive words and science vocabulary to help readers visualize the creatures.
Interest Level: Pre-K-5th grade
Reading Level: 4.2
Genre: Informational Text, picture book
Classroom Use: I would use this as part of a text set for a science unit on animals. Students could read this independently to learn more about prehistoric animals, or use it to do research for a project.
Writing Traits:
Presentation: The illustrations in the book are very realistic and it is really fun for kids to see the actual sizes of different prehistoric creatures.
Word Choice: The book includes a lot of descriptive words and science vocabulary to help readers visualize the creatures.
Interest Level: Pre-K-5th grade
Reading Level: 4.2
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