A First Book of Dinosaurs

Children, even the youngest, are fascinated by dinosaurs. The dinosaur galleries at the Natural History Museum are always crowded, and library kinder boxes sport innumerable stories featuring dinosaur characters. These naturally present the dinosaur protagonist as very humanized – essentially the child. What about the facts? How to make the long names, the amphibian and reptile characteristics easily available – but without patronising? Simon Mole, ably assisted by the illustrator Matt Hunt, does just that using his skill as a poet. Here we meet a whole range of dinosaurs whose existence spanned the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Though they are not so sorted in the actual narrative, a helpful factual spread with a colourful timeline brings the book to a close.

The text is made up of short punchy poems that use language to highlight characteristics or lifestyle. There are no long drawn out explanations. These creatures stomp, crunch, zip across each double page spread accompanied by Matt Hunt’s vibrant, colour saturated, energetic illustrations. These are dinosaurs to spark the imagination with vivid colours and a satisfying solidity that mirrors the words on the page. The vocabulary is immediate, visual and instantly engaging; factual correctness is embedded. The dinosaur names are clearly displayed with their pronunciation while the final section brings us up to date presenting the extraordinary fact that the chicken (representative of all birds) is a direct relative of the dinosaurs, while fossil remains are still waiting to be uncovered – perhaps by the reader! Lively, accessible, instantly eye-catching, this is a book that would brighten any library or classroom providing pleasure and immediacy if included in any lesson, stretching the imagination, enriching language without ignoring facts.