Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs

I've only just come out of the pop-up book closet, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say I've found the best pop-up books out there. The first one being Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs.

This pop up book is extravagant; there's no other word for it. Most pop up books save the best for last, a grand finale on the last page to leave you with a "wow" at the end. Every page of this book is a grand finale page. If the center image doesn't impress (although I can't imagine why it wouldn't), each page spread has small inset pages, and these contain pop up images too; of of these inset pages have more pages with more pop ups in them.

The intricate and sometimes delicate construction of these pages, as well as the writing, seems geared show more towards an older child, say 10-12 years old. The writing is informative, and there are pronunciation guides for each of the dinosaurs. Best of all, at the end, the authors devote an inset mini-book to why the dinosaurs disappeared; they offer several of the prevailing theories without giving weight to one over the other, ending with we don't know why they disappeared for certain. Responsible writing - I love it.

My only complaint is that each of those mini pages are held down with a photo-corner type thing. They do need to be held down, and I can't think of a better way to do it, but the corners require the reader to slightly bend the pages to get them in and out; over time and use, that's going to weaken the paper.

Saying that though, I can't recommend this book too much; it's fabulous. Kids and adults alike will find something to ooh and ahh over. MT has already asked if he could take it to work to show the guys; admittedly he is in the printing business but I don't think there's anyone out there that won't find much here to be impressed with. show less

What a neat book. All sorts of dinosaurs pop out of these pages, and there are smaller "mini-books" on each page that have pop-outs too. The short paragraphs about each dinosaur gives a pronunciation guide, plus one or two important facts. (Having just taken the University of Alberta's Dino 101 class on Coursera, I was a bit surprised how much information the authors were actually able to include in so few words!) It's a bit scary when you turn the page and a giant carcharodontosaurus leaps out at you, so it might be a little much for the very tiny set -- plus the pop-outs are so very fragile. (The copy I borrowed had a head and a tail that had fallen off of two separate dinosaurs; I was able to repair one, but the other was too complex show more to figure out.) While there are certainly no shortage of more encyclopedic dinosaur titles, this one is just fun to read.

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LT Haiku:

3D models of
big and small dinosaurs with
lots of facts each page. show less

One of the best examples of modern pop-up out there. Not only is this an amazing work of art (with the authors/artists cramming each spread with pop-up dinosaurs) but it is also full of information. A joy for young and not so young readers and book lovers alike.

At 12 pages you wouldn't think this is very dense... but the artistry of Sabuda & Reinhart's pop ups more than make up for page count, especially with the number of fold out bits on several pages. With a publication date of 2005, some information is potentially outdated ("Some experts think that birds are dinosaurs" when consensus by 2017 is that they are, the plausible revival of Brontosaurus as a genus, etc.) but otherwise a genuinely lovely work.

Even if you don't have kids, it's a more-than-excellent coffee table book/ice breaker.

At first glance, celebrated pop-up book team Sabuda and Reinhart have created a visually stunning representation of dinosaurs and the prehistoric age. Each spread features a large central pop-up dinosaur surrounded by short bits of text. Flaps around the edges of every page act as mini books and hold even more pop-ups and facts. Watercolor abounds on the rainbow-hued 3D dinos and in the flat artwork, as well. Headings like "Two Brains Are Better Than One" and "Smackdown: Dinosaur Style" will catch readers' attention and the text is informative; however, there's just not much of it. One page opens to reveal a red beast with giant yellow teeth about the swallow the reader whole, but the text doesn't make it clear if the reader is staring show more down the throat of a carcharodontosaurus, a giganotosaurus, or a T. rex. Ages 5 and up will enjoy reading this in small group together, though perhaps to the detriment of the artwork; the pop-ups and flaps are not meant for intensive manhandling. Recommended. show less

I loved this book! The first reason I liked this book was for the plethora of small and large pop-up dinosaurs that were on each page of the book. For example, on the two-page spread that discussed the types of long-necked dinosaurs, there was a huge pop-up Brachiosaurus and in little pages that you could open up on the two pages were seven smaller pop-up dinosaurs that each were the color and shape the actual dinosaurs were, thus the Protoceratops was brown and had wings, and the Amargosaurus has a yellow color to it with green spikes running down its neck. I loved this amazing inclusion of pop-ups because I was able to picture what the text was detailing much better with the examples the pop-ups gave me and it made flipping each page show more exciting in anticipation for what awesome pop-ups were going to be on the next page. The second reason I adored this book was for its resemblance and feel of an actual encyclopedia. For example, the front and back cover of the book are both very minimal in the illustrations and details they exhibit and the pages are thick and look old as if they have been sprayed with tea to make them look as if they are hundreds of years old. I liked these physical aspects so much because it made the information the book was presenting more important to me, even though there were pop-ups throughout the book, and it still physically felt like I was reading through an encyclopedia which subconsciously made me pay close attention to the information the book was providing. Overall, the main idea of this book was to inform the reader on some of the different dinosaurs that roamed the earth millions of years ago and to enthrall the reader in the subject by providing them with exceedingly visual examples of the creatures in the form of pop-ups. show less

I thought this book was enjoyable to look at. It was chock full of information, and the pop ups made it interesting, I was expecting this to read more like a story book, but it reads like an encyclopedia. Which I think might be a little difficult for a child to understand.