Everything Awesome about Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Beasts! (Everything Awesome)

* Lowery sandwiches a populous parade of very simply drawn dinos between a history of prehistory and a roundup of diverse topics, from what paleontologists do to sets of dinosaur jokes and A Few Kinda Weird (and Unlikely!) Dino Extinction Theories... dinosaurs hold the spotlight, flying and marine reptiles, early mammals, and other fabulous early fauna take such frequent star turns that along with infobites galore, readers will come away with a fairly sound understanding of just how dinosaurs fit into the whole history of life on this planet....A manic but solid series kickoff. 

Gr 2-5--Playful, humorous, and enthusiastic, the text and illustrations introduce prehistoric eras and creatures with an emphasis on dinosaurs. The conversational text goes above and beyond to engage the reader and goes hand in hand with the simple, bright, cartoonish illustrations. Lowery even hand-drew most of the lettering, with only the fast facts in typeset. This introduction to eras includes time lines, geology, plant and animal life, and insights into evolutionary thought. Lowery uses humor to make facts memorable. Despite the fun elements, there is a lack of documentation (footnotes or source notes) for internal quotes. While the book does have a bibliography of primary sources, it is notably brief. Appended is a how-to-draw dinosaur section that children will be tempted to draw in, and a pictoral dinosaur guide by period. VERDICT Not recommended, due to the lack of thorough documentation.--Nancy Call, formerly at Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA