| | |  | Dinosaur Books | Home » » Dinosaur Atlas: An Amazing Journey Through a Lost World | | | | | | | Description: | | Follow the most remarkable episode in prehistory in this all-in-one compendium of everything dinosaur. This volume marries the very latest in paleontology with an easily accessible atlas format to illuminate the mysteries of dinosaur origins, clues to what they looked like and where they lived, and, most intriguingly, what happened to them. In vivid recreations of the prehistoric world and fascinating see-through overlays featuring 3-D computer graphics of skeletal structures, DK's Dinosaur Atlas brings dinosaurs to life! | | | Features: | |
• Ages 8-12
• 96 pages
• Hardcover
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| John Malam | | Hardcover-spiral:
| 96 pages | | Publisher:
| DK CHILDREN | | Publication Date:
| September 04, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0756622352 | | Product Length:
| 12.1 inches | | Product Width:
| 10.52 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.59 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.98 pounds | | Package Length:
| 11.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 10.4 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 10 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 10 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 A great guide for teaching young paleotologists about how and where dinosaurs livedSep 07, 2006
By Lawrance M. Bernabo
I have been hooked on dinosaurs every since my great aunt took me to the Great Hall of Dinosaurs at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. This was so long ago the apatosaurus was known as a brontosaurus because they had the head of a camposaurus sitting on top of the giant skeleton that dominates the hall, along with Rudolph Zallinger's "The Age of Reptiles" mural. One of the neat things there is a triceratops on which a faux skin has been placed on one side. I mention that because in this "Dinosaur Atlas" authors John Malam and John Woodward, along with consultant Professor Michael Benton, go so far beyond that display that it makes me want to laugh with delight. Finding out about dinosaurs in the 21st century is proving to be a lot of fun.
This "Dinosaur Atlas" has main maps that show major fossil locations and list some of the prehistoric animals found there, followed by pages that provide additional information about both the locations and the animals. The section opener pages consist of six main sections corresponding to the continents (Antarctica is included with Australia). Color-coded silhouettes on the maps locate where prehistoric animals have been found, with the numbers corresponding with the silhouettes in the profile list. Each main section also has an artwork scene that shows not only dinosaurs but other animals of interest, as well as what the environment was like at that time. Today's Landscape information boxes compare the present-day world with that of the dinosaurs, and Fact Boxes throughout the book provide additional information on the topic, while Biography Boxes reveal the people behind the finds. There are also Did You Know? boxes that reveal interesting facts about a dinosaur or a fossil site. You will also find a transparent overlay page in each section, with a prehistoric animal of special interest. The overlay provides further information, enabling readers to see the skeletal structure.
For example, the section on North America identifies the Morrison Formation, a vast area of sandstone formed during the Jurassic Period that left Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus skeletons in the area of what is now Dinosaur National Monument. That is one of six locations highlighted in the section, and hopefully every young would-be palentologist who reads this book will have the opportunity to visit at least one of the places described. The section also focuses on Corythosaurus, the most common hadrosaur (duck-bill) in these areas. The overlay is of a skeleton of an Allosaurus, accompanied by a comparison of its skull, with the muscles and then the skin added to it. The introductory section of the atlas provides an overview on how to use it, a look at life on earth and the rise of the reptiles, and then at the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous worlds. Malam and Woodward also address the question of What is a Dinosaur? and explain the basics of the fossil record. They also have a pair of two-page spreads on both flying dinosaurs and swimming dinosaurs. The death of the dinosaurs and what came after them are covered at the end of the book. After answering over a dozen questions about dinosaurs (e.g., Who discovered the first dinosaur? What color were dinosaurs?), they look at the process of excavation and display. A Glossary of key terms will also be of help to young readers.
The "Dinosaur Atlas" also covers with a CD-Rom in the front cover that includes looks at an Allosaurus, Saltasaurus, Pterodactylus, Spinosaurus, Protoceratops, and Richmond Pliosaur. For each you have four options: (1) 360-degree rotating skeleton, (2) 360-degree rotating figures of the dinosaurs with muscles and skin, (3) loops of the skeletons shown walking, flying and swimming, as appropriate, and (4) views respectively of a biting skull, rising up on hind legs to eat from a tree, diving to catch and eat a fish, eating a small dinosaur that scurries by, braying up on hind legs, and eating while swimming along. You can enlarge the photos to approximately half-screen size. What you have here is pretty basic in terms of animation, but you will get a sense of how they looked and how they moved. All things considered the CD-Rom is not as impressive as the book, but that is because the book is pretty impressive. You know from the fact it is a DK publication that you are going to find multiple illustrations on virtually every page (I especially like the ones where they put dinosaurs into photographs of an environment). But the whole point here is to show how and where dinosaurs lived, and by that standard DK's "Dinosaur Atlas" is a big success.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 DisappointingJan 09, 2007
By Kelley A. Smythe
"dino mom"
I bought this book for my dino-enthusiast after he saw it at a book fair. A must have from the outside- but once in, my child lost interest. The overlays are really cool and we revisit them often, but the CD, which makes you think there will be many activites has only view and a slideshow of sorts. The kids can see how the skeleton moves and then that's about it.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Best Dinosaur BookJul 11, 2011
By Miles Mom
I bought this book for my five yr old son. He was always asking questions like...Is a T-Rex as big as a Spinosaur? Is a Velociraptor as big as dad? etc... plus all the questions of what they ate etc. and whether the Allosaur was around the same time as the T-Rex? This book puts all of the dinosaurs on the continents and geographic areas they were found in, plus the time they were on the earth. At the beginning of each continent section is a size chart of each dinosaur you will see in that section and their size compared to a man. It is nice to have kind of an ultimate guide on all of the dinosaurs instead of varying outdated info from several different books. Great book, still havent finished every section, so its nice I'm not getting bored reading while he's enjoying it.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
great dinosaur bookDec 29, 2010
By artistmom
I bought this book for my 4 year daughter who loves dinosaurs and knows quite a lot about them, she tends to be a year or two beyond her age range for toys and books. There is a lot of information but not too much with lots of illustrations and photos. Each section covers a different continent and breaks down further by collection sites. Each page spread is clearly identified and has one main paragraph then a lot of great renderings and photos each with it's on small description. The overlays are simply a skeleton over the page illustration but the different parts of the skeleton are called out and explained. I love that the first spread covers how to use the atlas and then goes into the development of life on earth then a spread on each time period (jurassic, triassic, etc) and then goes into what a dinosaur is and a great time chart. It explains how fossils are formed, the illustrations on this are great! There are also spreads on flying and sea reptiles before it goes into each continent. The book ends with the death of the dinosaurs, What came after, and a nice Q&A spread, and wraps up with a spread on excavation and display. A very thorough and easy to learn from book. As an adult I enjoy this book as much as my daughter and it is very educational. We read through this book often. The CD is basic, shows the dinosaur, you can rotate it and it runs. But don't base your purchase on the CD, the book is well put together.
A great dinosaur discovery--May 29, 2009
By L. Shelton
My grandson and I discovered this book at our local library. What a great find. We checked the well worn book out and discovered an incredibly well organized book with all the dinosaur facts, pictures, and maps of where the dinosaurs roamed. When it was time to return the book to the library, I decided to purchase the book for my grandson. I'm sure my grandson will refer to this "GEM" of a reference book for many years.
See all 10 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
* Estimated shipping rate for US 48 states. Final rate calculated at checkout. |
