While there are copious spotters guide to dinosaur books, and many of them are perfectly child-friendly, this goes in a different direction. Here is the science about the beasties – how they moved, and how we know how they moved, how we find them – as well as the basics of what they ate, etc. When it does get to the more gazetteer kind of sections, it's to make a gallery of specific types of dinosaurs (hello, thyreophorans). Yes, it does pick on one or two famous ones each time to get the lesson across, but it's not glorying in just a few superlative dinosaurs each time, common to every dinosaur guide out – rather, it's sticking to what makes them and their cousins a group together.

What there is also are some reasons to make this the weakest of the five books in this series, unfortunately, however distinctive its approach may be. The art is very variable – they go down the CGI route with some very patchy results, especially when they add a white outlining background to everything as if this was 2008 and Photoshop was still an unfathomable marvel. And it does what I've had to point out regarding two of the other books – it mixes metric with imperial (kilogrammes and miles per hour, again without converting anything), and it offers asinine speech bubbles to some of the dinosaurs that help nobody, and entertain even fewer.

So I think this is three and a half stars, even if it has a welcome approach. A pity.

This book is a brilliant little guide for kids who are obsessed with dinosaurs. It’s full of eye-catching illustrations and easy-to-digest facts that make learning about these prehistoric creatures really fun. I liked that it covers more than just the famous T. rex. There is plenty of variety and interesting details throughout the book. The language is simple without being boring, which makes it perfect for younger readers just getting into the subject. It’s the kind of book that kids can pick up again and again to satisfy their dino curiosity. Definitely a winner for any budding paleontologist (as I was at school!)

I really liked this. It is bright and attractive with a clear layout ]. Nicely illustrated throughout, the facts are well presented, just enough for young readers to get a good idea about each of the dinosaurs and topics within the book. This includes not only facts about dinosaurs themselves, but their world, paleontology, new discoveries, etc. It has a good glossary, quizzes to try, and will be a good book to dip into. This is certainly one I will be ordering for our libraries.

Excellent and engaging, concise and cute book about dinosaurs.
My 10 yo enjoyed this so much. It is interactive with quizzes and fun activities and has a nice layout and presentation.
I would also call it funny at times.
The information about scientists, museums and dinosaurs in display were very interesting.

I’ve read a lot of books about dinosaurs, and this is a really excellent book about dinosaurs. It’s full of really cool and up to date facts and info that that are presented in really eye catching and engaging ways for the target audience.

One thing I really appreciated is that this book isn’t simply about ‘dinosaurs’. It is also about how we find their fossils, where we’ve found them, who does the research that helps us learn more about them (the ‘ask an expert’ feature with Steve Brusatte was a fun surprise!) and so much more. The map of where in the world we’ve found different dinosaur species was awesome!!

The parts of the book that are about dinosaurs themselves are full of fascinating and well presented facts and the book is super engaging. Ending with a list of recent discoveries in palaeontology and what the future might bring for the field is a nice touch!

Overall, an excellent read that I would recommend to any dinosaur obsessed kid or any kid wanting to find out more! There’s a lot here for grown ups to enjoy too if reading along or hearing lots of fascinating facts that the kids in their lives share with them!

Thank you very much to Collins Reference and NetGalley for the ARC!