Dinosaur Feathers

Viewers get ringside seats as dinosaurs march past in an evolutionary parade, giving way to their modern avian representatives. . . A prehistoric progress that takes flight in more ways than one.

Nolan. . . beautifully pairs a clever rhyming text with luminous watercolors to express, for very young readers, the evolutionary link between several-million-year-old dinosaurs and modern-day birds.

Gr 1-4 This nonfiction poetry offering will satisfy young dino enthusiasts and draw in others who will appreciate the rhythm and rhyme, as well as Nolan's lovely watercolor illustrations. Even with the phonetic pronunciations included, the many dinosaur names will be tongue twisters for the adults who will be asked to repeatedly read this aloud. The plot is simple: the massive dinosaurs who once roamed Earth have vanished with the few remaining feathered creatures evolving into birds. Rich back matter includes dimensions of the various terrestrial and aerial creatures, translations of their Latin names, geographic locations, and clear cross-references to pages in the book where they are depicted. There's also a double-page spread of the tree of life, visually representing four billion years of evolution. VERDICT Make room on the shelf for this original addition to your dinosaur collection.-Gloria Koster, formerly at West School, New Canaan, CT

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

The clever writing is accompanied by truly stunning illustrations; the dinosaurs, so often portrayed in dull earth tones, almost burst off these pages in a glorious array of colors rendered in exquisitely detailed paintings, and their avian descendants are given the same spectacular treatment. . . . Parents may find themselves with both a budding paleontologist and ornithologist by the time this book is put down.