How Big Were the Dinosaurs? GIGANTIC!

This picture book by Patrick O'Brien looked very promising as I pulled it out of the plethora of other dinosaur books, but in the end I came away with mixed feelings. I liked that each dinosaur was the "star" of its own page and had a translation of its name underneath. I also liked that each dinosaur was pictured next to a familiar object such as a car, bulldozer, or other animals to help give readers perspective on the size of the dinosaur. For example, the Compsognathus dinosaur's name means "delicate jaw" and is featured next to a mommy duck and her ducklings for size comparison. I loved that there was a list of the dinosaurs at the end with pronunciation guides for their names as well as explanations about them.  I also thought that it was a great idea to narrow down the focus of the book to just the size of dinosaurs. In this way, young readers could bring their attention to a single attribute of dinosaurs while they were reading or being read aloud to.

At the same time, however, there were aspects of the book that I did not like as much. To begin with, I wished that the pronunciations had been underneath the dinosaur names instead of at the back. Because they were in the back, had I been trying to read this aloud I would have either had to practice it repeatedly or flip back and forth between the pronunciation guide and the page of the unpronounceable dinosaur. Would you be able to read quezalcoatlus or phobosuchus without help? I think not! I also did not like the way that some of the dinosaurs were featured next to objects that students sometimes think may have existed with dinosaurs, thus furthering their misconceptions. Specifically, there is a picture of a Triceratops lancing a fully-armored knight seated on a horse and ready to joust. There is also a picture of an elasmosaurus (imagine a Lochness monster) getting ready to eat a Viking ship. Students who would be reading a book like this may already think that there really were dinosaurs during the time of the Vikings or the time of King Arthur, and they do not need those ideas perpetuated.

In the end, though, How Big Were the Dinosaurs? GIGANTIC could be a fun addition to a collection of dinosaur books, books about size/comparing, or non-fiction picture books.