Life-Size Dinosaurs

The previous reviews say it all. This book is so engaging that my kindergarten-age son and I both love it. The illustrations are mind-blowing, when you hold them right up to your face and see how a T-Rex could chomp off your head with just a nibble. Other books don't do justice, even when they have the drawing of a human standing next to the dinosaur. At our school's Scholastic Book Faire, we bought the Life-Size Sharks book for my son, and we bought this Life-Size Dinosaurs book as a gift for his class. When we got it home, he loved it so much that he insisted on keeping both books. Now we have to get another one, so we can make good on our gift to the class. If you have a school-age kid, save yourself some trouble and just buy two copies. The price is right.

I agree wholeheartedly with the other 5-star review posted already, but have to add that this book is made even better by its great price. This is a huge book, and I almost didn't bother to pick it up at the bookstore because I figured a book this big must be $20 or more. But it is only *half* that, less than $10, which is nearly unheard of for modern kids' picture books. Buy it because it is a fantastic book that will fascinate you and your kids alike, and appreciate that it is a steal at this price.

Luckily for dinosaur fans, there are new dinosaur books coming out all the time. Just when you think you have seen all that a picture book can be, along comes one like "Life-Size Dinosaurs." It's title and concept is straight forward: Stuff each large format page with actual-sized artwork of different Dinosaurs. Many of the illustrations completely fill 4-panel fold out spreads from corner to corner. With an assortment of all sizes, there are dinosaurs small enough to be shown in entirety while others that can only be shown as close-up pieces such as the crest of a hadrosaur or the toothy mouth of a Tyrannosaurus. It doesn't matter that 90% of the critter can't even fit on the page because no book has ever brought us in so close like this before.The effect is a sense of real encounter with dinosaurs. As a bonus, the T-Rex mouth is also printed on the inside of the book jacket with the option of unfolding and hanging it up as a poster. All in all this book is a good example of how kids books are just better than grown-up books!