Meat-Eating Dinosaurs: The theropods by Thom Holmes and Laurie Holmes,
illustrated by Michael William Skrepnick, Enslow $20.95, ISBN
0766014525
EVERYONE knows Tyrannosaurus rex, the last of the giant meat-eating
dinosaurs to roam the Earth. The beast is part of our fascination with the big
and terrifying, and makes a logical starting point for a new series called The
Dinosaur Library, aimed at young readers aged 11 and over.
T. rex may dominate the cover, but Meat-Eating Dinosaurs is really
about the whole family of predators called theropods. All walked on two legs,
and most had seriously fearsome teeth, but they occupied a range of niches in
the dinosaurian world. The most common were small, swift runners that probably
hunted in packs, like wolves.
Advertisement
A few evolved into lumbering giants like T. rex, which wasn鈥檛 the
largest of the family. Thom Holmes has seen the record-holder first hand, as
part of a team of Argentines and Canadians who uncovered it in Patagonia.
However, he can only hint at the nature of the find because the details have yet
to be published.
Standard dinosaur books for younger children are full of pretty colour
pictures and tongue-twisting names. This series aims higher: at children old
enough to learn more about natural history and how dinosaurs lived. The text
avoids off-putting anatomical terminology in favour of plain English. The
chapters cover theropod types, physiology and feeding habits鈥攖he latter
always a favourite for kids. Michael Skrepnick鈥檚 black-and-white line drawings
do a better job of illustrating ideas than gaudy colour.
Meat-Eating Dinosaurs is just the thing for an older child to sink
his or her teeth into.