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Step into Reading, Step 5
Maximum Triceratops
A Step Into Reading science book offers readers an interesting look at the enormous dinosaur, Triceratops maximus, through an examination of its fossils and a comparison to the Tyrannosaurus rex, enhanced with full-color illustrations. Simultaneous.
48 pages, Library Binding
Published January 27, 2004
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35 people want to read
About the author
Robert T. Bakker
24 books149 followersBakker was born in Bergen County, New Jersey. He attributes his interest in dinosaurs to his reading an article in the September 7, 1953 issue of Life magazine. He graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1963.
At Yale University, Bakker studied under John Ostrom, an early proponent of the new view of dinosaurs, and later gained a PhD at Harvard. He began by teaching anatomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and Earth and Space Sciences, where future artist Gregory S. Paul worked and collaborated informally under his guidance. Most of his field work has been done in Wyoming, especially at Como Bluff, but he has ranged as far as Mongolia and South Africa in pursuit of dinosaur habitats.
At Yale University, Bakker studied under John Ostrom, an early proponent of the new view of dinosaurs, and later gained a PhD at Harvard. He began by teaching anatomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and Earth and Space Sciences, where future artist Gregory S. Paul worked and collaborated informally under his guidance. Most of his field work has been done in Wyoming, especially at Como Bluff, but he has ranged as far as Mongolia and South Africa in pursuit of dinosaur habitats.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 3, 2025
Could not wait as this came in the mail today
July 7, 2025
You learn a lot about Triceratops dinosaurs. Very good!
September 2, 2025
The best day-in-the-life dino books ( www.amazon.com/review/R16K64LXYBME69/... ): 5/5
Short version: If I was going to build the perfect children's dino book, I'd build a Bakker book. If I was going to build the perfect Bakker book, I'd build a "Step-into-Reading" book because it's just the right blend of education & entertainment.
Long version: Read on.
Growing up, my favorite children's dino books were day-in-the-life dino books because, when they're done right, they give the best idea of what dinos were like when alive as well as how we know what we know. Of all the day-in-the-life dino books I've read, Bakker's "Step-into-Reading" books ("Raptor Pack", "Maximum Triceratops", & "Dactyls! Dragons of the Air") are by far the best.* In this review, I list the 2 main reasons why I think that is while using "Maximum Triceratops" (henceforth MT) as an example.
1) The 1st part of a day-in-the-life dino book usually tells a day-in-the-life story of a dino. 1 of the major problems I have with many day-in-the-life dino books is that their stories are poorly-written/illustrated. Thanks to Bakker, MT doesn't have that problem. In fact, to quote Bryner ( http://news.yahoo.com/paleo-artists-b... ), Bakker "transformed dinosaur paleontology and reconstruction, calling it a Dinosaur Renaissance": In MT, Chapter 1 tells a day-in-the-life story of a T. maximus & its encounter with a T. rex, made awesome by 1) Rey's traditional paleoart (which is especially good at showing how active & colorful dinos were when alive), & 2) the tension & suspense ("which is allowed to slowly build to a truly upsetting climax": https://web.archive.org/web/201510170... ); This reminds me of Tippett's "Prehistoric Beast", but with the roles of attacker & attacked reversed. As far as I know, the only other day-in-the-life story that's as well-written/illustrated is in an adult dino book authored by 2 experts.**
2) The 2nd part of a day-in-the-life dino book usually explains the science behind the story. 1 of the major problems I have with many day-in-the-life dino books is that they concentrate on the story with only limited emphasis on the science (which doesn't make sense to me given how much science there is behind a given story). It'd be like "The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition — Blu-ray" having 26 hours of film & only 11 hours of bonus material ( http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/m... ). Thanks to Bakker, MT doesn't have that problem. In fact, to paraphrase Switek ( http://web.archive.org/web/2015041703... ), Bakker isn't only "a working paleontologist", but also 1 of the most "effective popularizers of science": In MT, Chapters 2-9 begin with the discovery of T. maximus & the controversy surrounding it, continue with the head anatomy, infrasound, locomotion, habitat, & social behavior of Triceratops, & end with the unsolved mysteries of T. maximus & its mammalian competitors; The middle chapters are especially good at showing how we know what we know, explaining the scientific process without dumbing down; This reminds me of the "Dinosaur Train" series, but for older kids.
*I'm including "Dactyls!" because, while pterosaurs aren't dinos, the story takes place in the Mesozoic Era (I.e. The Age of Dinosaurs) & features dinos.
**See Chapter 3 of Gardom/Milner's "The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs".
Short version: If I was going to build the perfect children's dino book, I'd build a Bakker book. If I was going to build the perfect Bakker book, I'd build a "Step-into-Reading" book because it's just the right blend of education & entertainment.
Long version: Read on.
Growing up, my favorite children's dino books were day-in-the-life dino books because, when they're done right, they give the best idea of what dinos were like when alive as well as how we know what we know. Of all the day-in-the-life dino books I've read, Bakker's "Step-into-Reading" books ("Raptor Pack", "Maximum Triceratops", & "Dactyls! Dragons of the Air") are by far the best.* In this review, I list the 2 main reasons why I think that is while using "Maximum Triceratops" (henceforth MT) as an example.
1) The 1st part of a day-in-the-life dino book usually tells a day-in-the-life story of a dino. 1 of the major problems I have with many day-in-the-life dino books is that their stories are poorly-written/illustrated. Thanks to Bakker, MT doesn't have that problem. In fact, to quote Bryner ( http://news.yahoo.com/paleo-artists-b... ), Bakker "transformed dinosaur paleontology and reconstruction, calling it a Dinosaur Renaissance": In MT, Chapter 1 tells a day-in-the-life story of a T. maximus & its encounter with a T. rex, made awesome by 1) Rey's traditional paleoart (which is especially good at showing how active & colorful dinos were when alive), & 2) the tension & suspense ("which is allowed to slowly build to a truly upsetting climax": https://web.archive.org/web/201510170... ); This reminds me of Tippett's "Prehistoric Beast", but with the roles of attacker & attacked reversed. As far as I know, the only other day-in-the-life story that's as well-written/illustrated is in an adult dino book authored by 2 experts.**
2) The 2nd part of a day-in-the-life dino book usually explains the science behind the story. 1 of the major problems I have with many day-in-the-life dino books is that they concentrate on the story with only limited emphasis on the science (which doesn't make sense to me given how much science there is behind a given story). It'd be like "The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition — Blu-ray" having 26 hours of film & only 11 hours of bonus material ( http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/m... ). Thanks to Bakker, MT doesn't have that problem. In fact, to paraphrase Switek ( http://web.archive.org/web/2015041703... ), Bakker isn't only "a working paleontologist", but also 1 of the most "effective popularizers of science": In MT, Chapters 2-9 begin with the discovery of T. maximus & the controversy surrounding it, continue with the head anatomy, infrasound, locomotion, habitat, & social behavior of Triceratops, & end with the unsolved mysteries of T. maximus & its mammalian competitors; The middle chapters are especially good at showing how we know what we know, explaining the scientific process without dumbing down; This reminds me of the "Dinosaur Train" series, but for older kids.
*I'm including "Dactyls!" because, while pterosaurs aren't dinos, the story takes place in the Mesozoic Era (I.e. The Age of Dinosaurs) & features dinos.
**See Chapter 3 of Gardom/Milner's "The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs".
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September 17, 2016A fun book that has lots of cool facts about dinosaurs. It is great for those who are a little more advanced but not ready for bigger books. It introduces chapter books as this book contains chapters and is fun for children of any age and both boys and girls.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews