Dinosaur Ghosts: The Mystery of Coelophysis

I need to come clean; I love dinosaurs. As a kid, my dinosaur phase lasted two years. Now that my bias is out in the open I can admit that I really enjoyed this book. The photographs and illustrations are engaging without overwhelming the text, which seeks to answer a big question: why did hundreds of Coelophysis die at Ghost Ranch? The author provides some background information on the dinosaur, the scientists, and the method of testing a hypothesis.

I appreciate that the author does not condescend to her audience. The tone is informative and avoids unnecessary jargon. The vocabulary is advanced without being inaccessible. My inner third grader loved the morbid references to cannibalism and the imagined death scenes for each show more hypothesis.

Most importantly, I think the author demonstrates how a good scientist is open to many theories. The book ends with a concession and a challenge. It is possible the current theory is not right. If a scientist with the "patience to study" these dinosaurs comes along, then they are "ready to change their ideas." show less

Dinosaur Ghosts is a great mentor text for children learning about the scientific method. The way the author is part Sherlock Holmes and part scientist keeps children turning the page, along with the excavation photographs and beautiful illustrations by Douglas Henderson. As the reader tries to discover what happened to the Coelophysis, they learn the process of elimination and the definition of perseverance. There are a great index and much-needed pronunciation guide at the end of the book.

How do you "think like a scientist?" This book demonstrates how to do just that. The process of the Scientific Method is carried out as the reader turns the pages to discover what happened to the Coelophysis at Ghost Ranch many, many years ago. First, the reader is presented with the question that the text is trying to answer. Next, the text goes through a series of hypotheses they try to apply to the question until they find one which may fit. The book wants the reader to follow along using skills of making observation and inferences from the text, as well as the detailed images, to state why or why not that the hypothesis at hand does or does not fit. Do the facts fit the picture? This is very successful when done as a classroom show more activity. The student become engaged and involved in the case which is being studied. In this particular instance, geology and dinosaur bones are being studied. However, there are many other types of investigations which can take place. show less

I really like how this book gave several hypotheses about what happened to the Coelophysis, and how it gave explanations of why the scientist thought that way. This is a book that would not only help in a lesson about dinosaurs but it would also help with teaching the scientific method.

Keeping the reader in suspense, this books attempts to figure out just how the mysterious Coelophysis became extinct as it dispels a variety of possibilities until finally stating that the best explanation is the one that "fits most of the clues."

An information picture book about the dinosaur bones found in Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. I like how the book follows the process of the Scientific Method. Could be great to use on lessons with science or dinosaurs.

This book was all about different hypothesis of how the coelophysis were all buried. I like how the book really explained why things couldn't be right. This book was also my inspiration to make my dinosaur children's book.