Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Dinosaur Wars: Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Velociraptor - Power Against Speed

Dinosaur Wars - Tyrannosauruas vs. Velociraptor: Power Against Speed 
by Michael O'Hearn


The introduction to this book is reminiscent of the boxing matches of years gone by such as the Ali-Frazier or other heavyweights!!!!!!!!!!! What a way to get young reader's attentions by introducing the book by writing:

This is the fight that everyone has been waiting for millions of years to see. Tyrannosauraus rex has the advantage in size and pure power. But Velociraptor is quick and smart, plus he has lots of friends.

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I enjoyed reading this book that was shipped to me from Capstone Publishers. 

This eye-catching book is well written and organized. It reminded me of posters for past boxing events! The book contains a nice Table of Contents that includes:

Welcome to the Dinosaur Wars
The Combatants 
     *Size
     *Speed and Agility
     *Weapons
      *Attack Style
  Get Ready to Rumble
Pain
Glossary
Read More
Internet Sites
Index
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The colors and pictures are bold, aggresstive, and inviting.. just like one would anticipate during a war between two members from the dinosaur kingdom!!!!!!!

The text is large and engaging!!!!!!!!! It has that "WELCOME, STEP RIGHT ON IN!!!!!!!"

As I read this entertaining book, I thought of the late sports announcer Howard Cosell who with Muhammad Ali made boxing the most exciting sport some years ago. It was as if I could hear Howard Cosell's powerful voice, yelling, In the one corner, we have Tyrannosaurus Rex  and in the opposing corner, we have Velociraptor! Who will win!!!!!! Who will remain standing? Who will deliver the knockout? Who will be the last dinosaur standing??? 

We witness the two dinosaurs engaged in life or death battle as we open the book to the "Welcome to Dinosaur Wars!" We read that "Dinosaurs were brutal creatures. They fought each other and ate each other. Usually it was meat-eater versus plant-eater.

I liked how the author included "Fierce Facts" at the bottom of many pages. For example, "Most dinosaur skeletons in museums are missing some bones. Scientists fill in the gaps using modesl of bones from related dinosaurs."

There are definitions included at the end of pages also such as "extinct - no longer living anywhere in the world." This is a creative way to teach vocabulary without students even realizing this!

The colors are green, red, yellow, black, white, orange and many variations! 

The pictures are large and "in your face!" They are so well designed and organized and layed out that you feel like you are right there with the dinosaurs and that they might leap off of the page at any time. I could certainly see how young children might be a little frightened and would need to have a parent ready to explain that this is not real. As a matter of fact, this fight could never have occurred as the author shares with us. In the "One Last Thing... section, the author shares that, "The battle is fake. It's imaginary, like in a movie. These two dinos never met of fought each other. Nobody knows which dinosaur would have won. No one knows how it would have happened. But if you like a good dinosaur battle, this one should be a blast."

The descriptions are short and to the point. For example, "T. rex was a true heavyweight, big enough to take on any dinosaur. He was one of the largest carnivores to ever walk the earth. This monster stood 20 feet (6 meters) tall and weighted 7 tons (6.4 metric tons). T rex's head was massive. It was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long. T. rex could fit an entire Velociraptor inside his open mouth." 

"Veliciraptor was a lap dog compared to T. rex. Velociraptor stood only 3 feet (.9 meter) tall. He measured up to 7 feed (2.1 meters) long from head to tail... Compared to T. rex, he wasn't even a featherweight.

What a blood bath... Velociraptor and his friends fight T. rex until the end... who is the victor? You will have to read the book..::)))

This book contains a nice Glossary at the end. There is a "Read More" section for readers to obain more information and the link to "Fact Hound" listed in the "Internet Sites" section.

I would recommend this book for students in third grade or older. I think this will be a great addition to any public, school, or home library. Dinosaur books are very popular with young males! This gem is no exception!

Until the next time!

Happy Reading!

A Children's Book a Day, Keeps the Scary Monster Away!

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Links for Additional Information:

Here is the link on Amazon.com:

Link to information on Powell Books:

Booklist Online:

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