Outside and Inside Dinosaurs

by Sandra Markle

Overview

What did dinosaurs sound like? How did they feel to the touch? What sorts of things did they eat?
Explore these questions and more in this remarkable and cutting-edge introduction to the giants of bygone days. Learn about dinosaurs on the outside — their skin, horns, and claws — and on the inside — their teeth, brains, and bones. Uncover what scientists already know about these ancient creatures, as well as the new technologies they are using to learn even more. Extraordinary full-color photographs, lively text, and vivid descriptions make this a must-have for dinosaur enthusiasts and budding scientists alike. Curious young readers will delight in this close look at dinosaurs — from the inside out!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689857782
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	07/01/2003
Series:	Outside Inside Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Sandra Markle is an author of children's books. She has published more than 200 non-fiction books for children. She worked on a project for the National Science Foundation called Kit & Kaboodle which helped students to understand science better.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-6-Excellent, large color photos march hand in hand with Markle's readable, informative text, showing how paleontologists examine fossil finds with cutting-edge technologies to discover more about the physiology and lifestyles of animals who vanished some 65-million years ago. From examining traces of nesting materials to estimating the strength of T. rex's mighty jaws, from the possibility that some species had feathers to the probability that others used gizzard stones, the author escorts readers through the complexities of facts, theories, and hypotheses formulated by scientists. The open format is attractive, and the topic a sure hit. Guaranteed to delight dinophiles (who are always seeking new grist for their insatiable mills), this handsome, enlightening addition will gather no dust on library shelves.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

In her most challenging outside/inside yet, Markle looks at how scientists use technology to develop theories and answer questions about the dinosaurs: what they looked like, how they lived, why they raised their young. This is science-writing and -reporting at its best—especially combined as it is here with many outstanding full-color photographs that extend and amplify the topics discussed. Markle often begins with a question: for example, "Did Apatosaurus' really long neck let it munch leaves in treetops?" She then describes and shows how scientists developed a computer simulation program called "Dynomorph," which concludes that the neck bones probably locked if the dinosaur lifted its head higher than its back. Which probably means old Apat didn't reach the treetops to browse like a modern giraffe, but merely swung his six-story neck from side to side. Did dinosaurs have feathers? Were they warm-blooded? Did they take care of their young? Eat meat or plants? Fly? Photographs show dinosaur eggs and embryos, a dinosaur intestine, the inside of a fossilized dinosaur bone, a microscopic view of two different dinosaur droppings, and lots more. Dinosaur fans will find the text an invitation to research and a model for further inquiry. Markle concludes with a challenge: "Maybe some day you'll find new clues or develop new ways to use technology to solve the final mysteries of what dinosaurs were like—inside and out!" Outstanding. (glossary, index, other sites for study) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews