Smithsonian Dinosaur Books
There is something about dinosaurs that mesmerize little kids. I think almost every home has a child that went through a fervent and fanatical dinosaur obsession, enthrallment, or time in their lives where they were completely absorbed in these prehistoric creatures. Toddlers as young as 18 months can develop a keen interest in dinosaurs where they want to know all of them by name. In truth, they’re massive, scary, strong and some of them are dangerous predators that would eat you in a heartbeat. But, kids see these extinct creatures a lot differently. Visually experiencing the magnitude of their size is captivating and hypnotizing and kids just want to learn more about them.
Books are a great way to introduce children to unlimited fields. They’re also great teachers and can help kids delve into subjects they resonate with, like dinosaurs. Here are some great Smithsonian dinosaur books that kids of all ages will find inviting and compelling.
The Dinosaur Book
The Smithsonian Dinosaur Book will walk kids through prehistoric times before man was even primitive and dinosaurs roamed the planet billions of years ago. Kids will learn about a variety of extinct plants, marine life, and dinosaurs and what fossils tell about life in the far distant past.
Kids will glean insight into our timeline and the different periods or eras of dinosaur life. They’ll also discover where fossils have been found scattered throughout the planet in sedimentary rock and what period they existed. Some sites found fossils that didn’t fully decay, revealing fine details like feathers or skin.
Did you know that dinosaurs are split into two groups – lizard-hipped and bird-hipped and these can be further split. And that dinosaurs ranged in size from animals no larger than a pigeon to lumbering beasts the size of large trucks. In the world of anthropods, it is believed that the first insect flew the skies 250 million years before the first bird. An extinct relative of the dragonfly called griffinflies had a wingspan of 27 inches (69 cm). There were also some pretty ferocious and colossal fish that date back millions of years… like the prehistoric great white shark called the Dunkleosteus. Did you know that the Castoroides was a huge beaver that was the size of a bear? Secret code: Yi qi.
Dino-lovers and young paleontologists will be fascinated with the facts about how and where each of the dinosaurs lived. The full-color and realistic digital images will reveal what they looked like making their reading experience more meaningful and real. They’ll also see how big the dinosaurs are compared to man; they range from the Eosimias to the Patagotitan. Plus, kids will capture insight into the Ceratopsians, Therapods, Pachycephalosaurs, Hadrosaurs, Iguanodontians, Plant-eaters and more. The Dinosaur Book is an insightful resource that kids will find hard to put down.
Did You Know? Dinosaur
The Smithsonian Did You Know? Dinosaur book will answer those thought-provoking and weird questions young kids have about these prehistoric beasts. The book is divided into five chapters, plus there are answers and more quizzes at the back of the book.
Each question gives you more than one written answer and they are communicated in a way that is easy to understand and digest. Plus, they are accompanied by full-color illustrations used to help explain further. There are lots of data boxes and graphs filled with fun facts and cool finds. Plus after the kids read the answers to the probing questions, there are Quick Quiz boxes that ask a series of three questions. These questions will help kids deepen their knowledge and help them retain the information.
Some the questions that will be answered are Where did dinosaurs live? What was the longest dinosaur? What did dinosaurs eat? What can we learn from dinosaur poop? What swam in the prehistoric sea? How are fossils formed? And many more. It’s a great resource book that’s an easy and fun read.
Disclaimer: I received complimentary products to facilitate a review. All opinions are my own, yours may differ.