Barbara Kerley

From the time he was young Waterhouse Hawkins dreamed of showing the world what dinosaurs looked like. Fast forward to Victorian England, Mid-Century where Waterhouse has perfected his artisty and brought these animals to life in the hope all would be interested. He built the first life--sized replicas of dinosaurs, and highlighted them in exotic exhibits both in England and the United States. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were enthralled by his art work.

It was at a very fancy New Year's Eve dinner party wherein Waterhouse invited learned scientists to attend. An Iganandonon mold was made and inside were the seats of 21 guests.

Furthermore, it was at the Crystal Palace in England that Waterhouse showed his grand exhibit to forty thousand spectators.

He didn't stop with shows in Europe, he came to the United States and presented his replica of what he thought a Hadrosaurs looked like. This event occured at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

Then, in New York City's Central Park, He hired an assistant to help build the Paleozic Museum, a large structure of iron and glass with an incredible arched ceiling. It was the corrupt politician Boss Tweed who stopped this from occurring. Men broke into his wowrkshop, and with sledgehammers shattered the dinosours that would have been shown inside the Paleozic Museum, And today buried in Central Park are pieces of his beloved dinosaurs.

While he was ahead of his time, some of his renditions were later found to be inaccurate. But, his imagination and spirit was something to be proud of.

Again, it was in reading this book that Il learned of this fascinating man. Once again, a lushly illusrated book coupled with a creative author, brought knowledge to many who read these pages.

The illustrations in this book are incredible. Brian Selznick remains one of my favorite illustrators.

4.5 Stars… (more)

This was a delightful book! When I was in fifth grade, the school trip was a bus ride to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. I was mesmerized by the taxidermized animals in beautiful 3 D painted settings.

When reading this book, I learned from Rhoda Knight Kalt, who was the grand daughter of the man who was the artistic man behind many of the paintings in the museum.

Charles R. Knight was famous for his artistry in many museums. He brought dinosaurs and many animals to life. Actually, as I sat in the rooms of the museum, I did think they came alive at night. The darkened rooms were eerie.

Rhoda takes us on a journey with her grandfather, with whom she had a loving, close relationship. Trips to the museum were always fun and informative as he lovingly described the environment of the animals and the lives they lived. She notes that her grand father was legally blind as a result of a childhood accident. Still, he was capable of bringing these animals, including saber-toothed cats to life.

This is an incredibly informative, fun book of life in New York City with her grandfather and the days they also spent at The Plaza Hotel for tea, and the Central Park Zoo and well as the Bronx Zoo.

Highly recommended. This is a library book, but I plan to purchase a copy for my library of illustrated books.… (more)