Dougal DixonKirja-arvosteluja

A really interesting idea, well executed. The explanations of the ecosystems and the way they were filled seem plausible to me (a complete amateur, to be fair) and the illustrations, which range from uncanny valley to outright horror, have enough cohesiveness to suggest a real world.

This is a decent introduction for those who didn't go to university (or yet to go, or just started) for geology and aren't afraid of some technical language. Sections cover what kind of gear is essential for the amateur or the professional geologist, concepts about major geological phenomena like plate tectonics and rock cycles, as well as written and photographic details of common rock and mineral types so you know where to find and identify them.

The Practical Geologist would be most useful as the start of a reference library. More details are needed to confidently identify rocks and minerals or be able to iterate how they got to be where they are found--basically, complement this book with field guides and read more books. In addition, follow this book's advice and supplement your library with your own geology field journals and local maps.

Ultimately this book fulfills it's purpose: it's a practical introduction--an introduction to build on.

Dinosaurs roamed the Earth, swam in the seas, and flew in the air some two hundred fifty-two million years ago, and still, they still spark the imagination. What did the dinosaurs look like?

Each double-page spread in this book is devoted to one of eleven particular Jurassic dinosaurs and includes basic information, a brief description of the dinosaur’s characteristics and its natural habitat, and a photograph of the dinosaur. The photographs are of lifelike dinosaur models showing what the dinosaurs looked like in their natural surroundings.

A listing of fun facts about dinosaurs, suggested books for further reading, a list of new words, and an index/pronunciation guide all follow the entries.

The target audience for this book is the young reader in third or fourth grade, ages eight through ten. Part of Scholastic’s New Dinosaur Library Series, this informative book is sure to be a favorite with young dinosaur fans.

Highly recommended.

Lots of informations for kids interested in dinosaurs-- very informative for younger grades.

I definitely connected with my inner seven-year old while reading this book. It's not too technical, but enough so to satisfy the juvenile fact-collecting passion, and is encyclopaedic rather than in essay form, so great for dipping into rather than developing a deep knowledge. As I'm not studying to be a paleontologist, that suits me fine. It's wonderfully illustrated and is very clear about what is known and what is assumed. Loved it!

567.9

566

In Search of Dinosaurs by Dougal Dixon and Danielle Fabri looks at each of the major ages of dinosaurs and prehistoric critters- Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous- through the lens of a dig site. Kids are encouraged to identify the bones, footprints, and other fossils before opening foldouts to identify the creatures in question. Basic info is provided for each timeframe, and for each creature. Pop quizzes appear at the end of each section. This book is meant for rather younger readers than my cubs, and did not show well as a digital copy, for many reasons. I think this would be good for early elementary age children.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A really erratic mix. Some truly excellent illustrations, photographs of skeletons and models. A good discussion of more recent discoveries about the dinosaur ancestry of birds. Omits a glossary, instead putting a roughly equivalent (to the writer I guess) phrase or word in parentheses after the difficult word. But the words aren't always equivalent, and that's what glossaries are for. No etymological information at all, which is always a frustrating omission w/ dinosaurs, which have such fascinating names.

‘A 2019 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K–12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council).

From the moment life crawled out of the oceans and onto land, to when our primate ancestors climbed down from the trees, the history of Planet Earth is filled with incredible stories. This beautifully illustrated guide explores some of the most exciting and incredible events in evolution, through 13 case studies.

Step back in time and discover a world where whales once walked, crocodiles were warm-blooded, and snakes had legs! Meet terrifying giant birds, and tiny elephants living on islands in this fascinating creature guide like no other. Learn how whales once walked on four legs before taking to the oceans; how dinosaurs evolved into birds; and how the first cats were small and lived in trees.

Featuring a stunning mix of annotated illustrations, illustrated scenes, and family trees, evolution is explained here in a captivating and novel style that will make children look at animals in a whole new way.’

When the Whales Walked was a wonderful read, and a fairly quick one too. It's geared more towards middle-grade kids, who have at least some science knowledge. Many of the lessons in here were new to me. So many animals have gone through such radical changes over the millennia, with several shifting from sea to land to sea again. Or land to sky to land.

Concepts of evolution and extinction were covered, and the several waves of extinction are discussed. It's sad to consider that we are causing the current wave of extinction- the sixth extinction. I think sooner or later, we ourselves are going to succumb. The earth has a way of regulating population that gets out of control, usually with sickness. I read this with my cubs, and we all really enjoyed it! Perfect for dinosaur or nature loving kids.

***Many thanks to Netgalley/ Quarto Publishing for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When the Whales Walked And Other Incredible Evolutionary Journeys
by Dougal Dixon is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book has so much information and it is arranged so well! Wonderful illustrations with each but of info, each creature/ animal gets a nice art work and it's own bio! Great charts that makes it easy to follow! This is one of the easiest book on adaptation I have seen for kids in a long time. The illustrations are not only abundant but excellent! The information is rich and helpful! I definitely want to get this for my grandkids!

This is a fun book even if you're not into dinosaurs. I read it because my work-in-progress involves a universe in which the asteroid that hit the earth and wiped out the dinos didn't happen.

This book was a perfect reference text because it shows what creatures might exist today had dinos survived (and ate up all the mammals). For example, I can use the images to describe some of the creatures (like this one: http://tiny.cc/Dino2

This would be a good book to read to a child.

This book was very fanciful. I can see how the author may have developed some of the ideas, but the majority seemed incredibly far fetched, essentially an extreme devolution of what was left of humanity...back to the trees and primordial slime...I spent half my time rolling my eyes, especially considering the small time frame for such changes...200 years, 300 years by which stage we will be swimming in the ocean, unable to breathe air but circulate water around our mouths and pectoral gills to gather oxygen. Of course these skills were given a helping hand by civilisation when it still existed by way of genetic engineering. All I can say is Dixon has an incredible imagination.

The introductory guide to the basics of geology and to collecting and identifying rocks

The introductory guide to the basics of geology and to collecting and identifying rocks.

I remember thinking this was stupid

I've had this on my list for awhile, seemed intriguing. Seemed less appealing when I picked it up, so I had my son 'guinea pig' it for me. He reports, from a thorough scan but not an every word read, that it's only mildly interesting and that the Hood and Dixon did not always agree on details.... I see a lot of genetic engineering in the first half of the book, and that is not what I'm interested in.... But I'm scanning it some more....

OK. I wanted more about how we'd naturally evolve, if we could adapt to Climate Change (not fast enough, of course, but still...) and if we'd get the big brain & feeble limb form that is popular among older SF writers.... But the forms shown aren't like that, and most seem entirely implausible to me: the massive sloth, for example, feeds its bulk on leaves in a temperate climate - but we all know leaves are low-calorie, so how do these folks survive winter?

Most significantly, none of these 'men' after an apocalypse are civilized. I sincerely doubt that an apocalypse that doesn't destroy life on earth down to the ants will be so harsh that man can't recover technology faster than the pace of evolution. In other words, we'll be making an assortment of weapons long before we can evolve claws as effective as daggers.

I trust that everything described is possible. I don't think any of it is likely.
Even if I were to read an SF treatment of these 'characters' I'd dismiss it as implausible, probably silly.

This is a fun book. It tells about the different dinosaurs. It also talks about what they eat, look like, the height and so much more. This is a good book for kids who are interested in dinosaurs.

I remember thinking this was stupid

This square hard cover was picked up for my eldest, who at aged (nearly) 4 and a half, is far too young. It has a lot of text along with the pictures, and the detailed info would be better for a 8-10 year old I'd say. But, I read it and found it very interesting indeed. It turns out there were more dinosaurs out there than just the T-Rex!

The author sounds a very sensible chap in that he acknowledges where there are gaps in data. He brings up common misconceptions and outs past scientists who have made false claims or huge assumptions. Because of this his information comes over as very credible. All in all a fascinating read for a novice.½

I would incorporate this book when I do a lesson on ocean life. It describes the many ways scientist can explore the depths and the many of the organisms that can be encountered. The book is organized in a very appealing way. The blue color of the ocean is demonstrated on many of the pages. Some of the pages are partially transparent, which allows for the reader to match up images with the page before or after. The information is accurate and the organization is very well done. An organized table of contents is presented, along with an index, and acknowledgements. No glossary was provided. Many illustartions and real pictures demonstrate many beautiful ocean organisms and various ancient objects.

This book is very, very pretty, and also a fascinating excercise in worldbuilding for the fun of it. It describes a postulated future Earth, 50 million years from now, built on the remains of a world which was devastated by mankind and then regenerated after Man wiped himself out.

It's a wonderful demonstration of evolution in action, with a guide to Earth's evolutionary history in the front, and every new animal described in terms of its evolutionary history and sorted by biome, with gorgeous watercolor illustrations of everything.

I had some difficulties with the book itself, though: firstly, the particular species he chose to wipe out as a results of Mankind, and the species which survived - he thinks rabbits and rats would survive because of their ability to live among human habitats, but not deer, cats, or horses? I'm sure a lot of the individual choices were simply down to what animals he wanted to work with, and what would give cool results, -- and extinctions do often seem utterly arbitrary - but presenting it as the obvious result seems like sloppy thinking.

Much more importantly, though, he focuses entirely on charismatic animals. There is almost no mention of fish or invertebrates, and plant communities - which have if anything been more wholly altered by human action - are left unmentioned and completely unchanged, so that his fantastical rabbucks and giant predatory rats wander through a forest ecosystem of still entirely recognizable modern plants.

For all those little ones in your life or school that love dinosaurs, this is the book for them. Filled with wonderful illustrations, photographs and tidbits of information, this is a great book for younger readers to share with parents. This would also interest those students reading independently.

Comprehensive source of information about dinosaurs. Awesome pictures, especially like how the pictures of dinosaurs are incorporated into present day scenes (like at the airport, fishing with bears, running with kangaroos).

I'm not sure that board books need dino names, but it's an interesting idea...