INSIDERS -- a visually groundbreaking, state-of-the-art nonfiction series that outshines Eyewitness and Discoveries. This stunning new series offers an inside look into twelve riveting subjects, beginning with Dinosaurs, Egypt, Oceans, and Space. Expertly written, each book will feature an arresting design, complete with dynamic, multi-layered CGI and 3-D model imagery that is complemented by fascinating, up-to-date information presented in a user-friendly format.
Dinosaurs explores every aspect of the time when these real-life monsters ruled the Earth, with illustrations that reveal the layers of dinosaur anatomy, show the process of fossil formation, and explore several well-known species in depth.
John Albert Long (born 1957) is an Australian paleontologist. He currently serves as Strategic Professor in Palaeontology at Flinders University, Adelaide.
Динозаврите НЕ са изчезнали!!! Точно така! НЕ са изчезнали! Доказателствo за това са птиците, които са близки родственици на динозаврите. Много по-близки, отколкото са крокодилите и змиите. Всички птици са произлезли от група ходещи месоядни динозаври, ето защо краката им имат същата конструкция като при динозавритеАвторът Джон Лонг небрежно продължава разказа си за динозаври:
- Динозаврите живеели в Мезозойската ера, състояща се от три периода: Триас, Юра, Креда. Първите динозаври се появили в средата на Триаския период, а повечето изчезнали в края на Кредния период.
- Учените разделят динозаврите на 2 основни вида: * Зауроподи (гущеротазови) - към тях спадат месоядните тероподи ( прословутият Тиранозавър рекс също бил теропод) и растителоядни с дълги вратове (и супермалки мозъци). * Орнитоподи (птицетазови) - тук са динозаврите с брони (като анкилозавъра) и рогатите динозаври (като цератопси). Колкото и да е странно, не други, а някои от гущероподобните са оцелели и са еволюирали до ПТИЦИ.
My son is really into dinosaurs right now. He's one. He loved the illustrations in this book. The rest of us (my 7 and 4 year old daughters and myself) really appreciated all the great information presented.
Guide très pratique et utile pour une introduction. Bien illustré, agréable à lire, surtout pour ceux qui n'aiment pas spécialement les blocs de textes. C'est informatif.
For as long as there has been "Dinosaur (DK Eyewitness Books)" (henceforth DD), there have been wannabes. As much as I love DD, I understand why readers would want an alternative: For 1, see the Ben quote; What Ben says about "the AMNH fossil halls" goes for DD; For another, DD is a mixed bag in terms of paleoart.* However, as far as I know, Abramson et al.'s "Inside Dinosaurs" is the only good alternative. Long's "Dinosaurs (Insiders)" (henceforth DI) is the worst of all the other alternatives. In this review, I list the 2 main reasons why I think that is, besides the text.**
1) Unlike DD, DI is an annoying & confusing mess in terms of writing & organization. In reference to "annoying...writing", this is especially apparent in the sub-chapter about the dino extinction because 1) the main text explains nothing about the science behind the dino extinction story, & 2) the sidebar text needlessly re-tells said story. In reference to "confusing...organization", this is especially apparent in the sub-chapters about studying & finding/reconstructing dino fossils because 1) you have to find dino fossils BEFORE you can study/reconstruct them, & 2) the text explaining said processes is scattered all over with no apparent rhyme or reason.
2) Unlike DD's life reconstructions, DI's are mostly not-so-good. Those by Carr are as good as it gets in DI, while those by Pixel-shack are as bad as it gets: In reference to Carr, that's not saying much; Some of her life reconstructions are OK (E.g. See the small T. rex on the front cover), while others are just plain outdated/abominable (E.g. See the feathered dinos on the back cover; Some have pronated hands or splayed legs; Others look like demented muppets or feathered lizards); In reference to Pixel-shack, I've said all I have to say in my review of Brusatte/Benton's "Dinosaurs" (See reason #4: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3480073458 ); In DI, the ankylosaurs are depicted as being piles of poop, while the tyrannosaurs are shameless rip-offs of the "Jurassic Park" T. rex. Those by the other illustrators fall somewhere in between, but more towards Pixel-shack (E.g. See Eriksson's large T. rex on the front cover, which is a poorly-photoshopped lace monitor). McKinnon's paleoart may be the 2nd worst in DI (E.g. Not only is the Struthiomimus un-feathered with pronated hands, but also duck-billed with cheeks).
*I'm specifically referring to DD's life reconstructions, many of which are not-so-good (E.g. Those by various illustrators & Pixel-shack in the older & newer editions, respectively).
**Even if you only read the "Fast facts" & the "Time bar", you'll see that there's an average of at least 3 or 4 factual errors per page in DI, a 64 page book.
Quoting Ben ( https://extinctmonsters.net/2015/02/2... ): "Within the actual fossil halls, interpretation remains stubbornly unapproachable. For example, the sign introducing proboscidians tells visitors that this group is defined primarily by eye sockets located near the snout. An observant visitor might wonder why scientists rely on such an obscure detail, as opposed to the obvious trunks and tusks. There’s a good teaching moment there concerning why some characteristics might face more selection pressure (and thus change more radically) than others, but instead visitors are only offered esoteric statements. Relatedly, the exhibit does little to prioritize information. Most label text is quite small, and there’s a lot of it. Compare this to Evolving Planet at the Field Museum, where there is a clear hierarchy of headings and sub-headings. Visitors can read the main point of a display without even stopping, and parents can quickly find relevant information to answer their charges’ questions (rather than making something up). Evolving Planet also compares favorably to the AMNH fossil halls in its informative aesthetics and spatial logic. At FMNH, walls and signs in each section are distinctly color-coded, making transitions obvious and intuitive. Likewise, consistent iconography – such as the mass extinction zones – helps visitors match recurring themes and topics throughout the exhibit. AMNH, in contrast, has a uniform glass and white-walled Apple Store aesthetic. It’s visually appealing, but doesn’t do much to help visitors navigate the space in a meaningful way."
This is a well laid out book of interest to all ages. It is packed with illustrations to appeal to the non-reader.
Chapter titles: The Age of Dinosaurs; The Life of Dinosaurs; Discovering Dinosaurs; Meat Eaters; Plant Eaters
Each chapter is broken down into categories, I particularly liked the descriptive titles for the Meat and Plant Eater sections e.g. Allosaurus the Nightmare Dragon or Diplodocus and the Cracking Whip.
Children will love the illustrations in this book of their favorite prehistorical creatures. I have always loved Dinosaurs. The book is filled with useful information for any research paper. I would highly recommend this book in any elementary school library.
From the embossed and eye-catching cover to the glossy CG images within, this attractive new offering on a favorite old topic is a winner -- not to mention that it also contains quite a bit of fascinating and detailed facts. I absolutely enjoyed poring over this one!