Back in the Day.... Dinosaurs (Hello, World) by Jill McDonald

TODAY YOU CAN SEE DINOSAUR BONES AT A MUSEUM.

DINOSAUR BONES ARE FOUND BY PALEONTOLOGISTS, WHO FIT THEM BACK TOGETHER LIKE PUZZLES.

Although Jill McDonald's brand-new little book, Hello, World! Dinosaurs (Doubleday and Company, 2018), has all the exterior hallmarks of a tiny tyke board book, the text of the first page, with words like museum and paleontologists, shows that this is not your average baby book. It's actually an introduction to the science of dinosaurs for older preschoolers and early primary students who have already been bitten by dinosaur mania.

McDonald introduces the scientific name of the better-known dinos--apatosaurus, compsognathus, triceratops, ankylosaurus, stegosaurus, iguanodon, velociraptor, and, of course, that ever-popular bad boy, tyrannosaurus rex. McDonald points out the meanings of the Latinate names and goes into the diets of these dinosaurs as either carnivorous or herbivorous, as well as descriptions of prominent physical characteristics such as apatosaurus' long neck, T. rex's two short front legs, or triceratops' three-horned face.

This one is for youngsters in transition who are ready and able to acquire some official vocabulary, and as most parents of preschool paleontologists can testify, they love to reel off those long names with expertise. This entry from the popular Hello, World board book series is a great book for animal lovers, especially those of the prehistoric creature persuasion, and is an inexpensive way to prime preschoolers for a visit to a natural history museum.

For more realistic illustrations of these popular dinosaurs, share this one with Roxie Munro's Inside-Outside Dinosaurs (see review here).