Dinosaurs to Dodos: An Encyclopedia of Extinct Animals

One of my first encyclopedias regarding prehistoric life- my copy is in poor condition now but the contents of this book are excellent. It taught me several new creatures I had never heard of at the time and even covers topics of more modern extinction events (such as the Javan Tiger). Clear facts and explanations. Although primarily aimed at children, this book includes so much information, easily comprehensible, and well presented, that older audiences may find pleasure in reading it as well.

Set up as a easy-to-follow guide through the geologic time scale, "Dinosaurs to Dodos" brings focus to several diverse yet extinct species ranging from 4.6 billion years ago to less than thirty years ago. With accurate illlustrations and tons of information, this book would perfectly fit into a science lesson. While it doesn't cover all of the former species of Earth, the neatly organized sections, based on geologic periods and epochs, this book contains enough scientific facts and theories to spark interest in the topic.

Lessem provides a the phonetic pronunciation of difficult and new words which I found extrememly helfpful and informative. THE ILLUSTRATOR'S (Jan Sovak) PAINTINGS ENCOURAGE OUR STUDENTS TO DRAW AND DIAGRAM THEIR ANIMAL AND HABITAT THROUGH DIFFERENT MEDIUMS, NOT JUST PENCIL.

A fine book about extinctions up until historic times.