Everything Dinosaurs by B. Hoena

Hoena, Blake. Everything Dinosaurs. Illus. Franco Tempesta. Washington: National Geographic Society, 2014. Print.This colourful, glossy and magazine-like title in the National Geographic Kids’ Everything series will please almost any young would-be paleontologist.  Written specifically for the 8-12 year old audience, it is chock full of photographs, images, facts, maps and activities expertly compiled by a large team of National Geographic staff. It has boldly designed graphics and as a high-interest non-fiction title, will appeal to reluctant readers.Children will enjoy the appealing images, beautifully created by artist and illustrator Franco Tempesta who specializes in naturalistic illustration, and in particular, realistic images of dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals.  Included are “Explorer’s Corners,” information from the field from an expert. In this case, University of Chicago professor Paul Sereno, who in his photograph and cartoon image looks a lot like Indiana Jones! Real photographs of fossilized dino eggs, meteorites, dinosaur theme parks and paleontologists add a touch of authenticity. Especially fun are the infographics and quizzes, on topics ranging from how dinosaur names are chosen, dinosaurs in Hollywood films and the ‘rock stars’ of the paleontological world.As with other titles in the series, Everything Dinosaurs contains a table of contents, diagrams, definitions and an index. This title and the series will appeal to upper middle and upper elementary readers interested in non-fiction. It would be a fine addition to elementary school libraries and public libraries.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.