  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 09/01/2013 Gr 1–4—This book poses the question, "Who was the greatest dinosaur that ever lived?" Each beautifully illustrated page declares "I, ----, was the greatest of them all!" The succinct text describes the superlative characteristic (biggest herbivore, stongest teeth, fastest runner) of the species and offers the gross, interesting, and informative facts that dinosaur-obsessed readers want to know. Each name includes a pronunciation guide (exactly what adult readers want). The text includes a mix of familiar and obscure species including "the first dinosaur to say I was a bird," the best parent, and the longest spikes. Every full-spread illustration, in oil paint on paper, shows the dinosaur in its richly depicted habitat. Observant children will learn as much from the detailed, painterly images of groups of animals moving together, hunting prey, and adapting to new environments as they will from the text. The dreamy quality of the art keeps these giant predators from being too scary. Whether read aloud or pored over individually, this book is sure to please anyone who has ever wondered about dinosaurs.—Leila Sterman, Chappaqua Library, NY - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 11/01/2013 “Which dinosaur was the greatest?” In a few sentences on a richly illustrated double-page spread, 12 dinosaurs take turns explaining why each deserves the title “greatest.” The question comes down to what the term really means. Sauroposeidon, for instance, was the tallest, while Spinosaurus was the longest, and Tyrannosaurus rex was the strongest. Oviraptor claims to have been “the best parent,” while Ankylosaurus boasts “the best armor,” with bony plates, a club on its tail, and even armored eyelids. Grand in scale and distinguished in appearance, the beautifully executed oil paintings offer richly detailed views of prehistoric times in varied locales. Through the creatures’ monologues and the brief but informative notes appended, children will learn a few facts about a dozen dinosaurs, and in the end, they are the ones encouraged to choose the greatest of all. From the writer and illustrator of Life in the Boreal Forest (2009) and Frog Song (2013), here’s another handsome book for the science shelves. - Copyright 2013 Booklist. Loading...
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