I am a Diplodocus

Review also includes:

I am a Quetzalcoatlus, 978-0340893906

Still remembering her splendid Think of an Eel, I’ve been hoping for some time to find some more Karen Wallace to read, and, Whooopee!, here we are. I’m not much of a one for ‘dinosaurs’ but these two are a delight. To start with I’ve never known whether ‘Diplodocus’ should rhyme with ‘Hocus pocus’ or end ‘ploddocus’, and the preliminaries tell me either is acceptable, so that’s all right.

And then there’s Wallace’s masterly way with words. Pared to a minimum with no syllable wasted, these two texts are comparable with Mayne or Morpurgo – they could happily join an anthology of verse or be set to music. Each one tells us of an engaging creature’s way of life, the dangers it faces from other contemporaries and, eventually, its way of death. Books like this pave the way for an absorbing interest in fossils and the prehistory pantheon. If they’d been available 60 years ago, I’d probably be more of a one for ‘dinosaurs’ than I am. Absolutely great! And, oh yes, fine pictures from Mike Bostock. For anyone from 3 to 10.