THE AUTHOR: Howard Temperley (Illustrated by Michael Kline)
Did you know that dinosaurs ruled the land for more than 160 million years? In fact, this wonderful book taught me that dinosaurs were here from 228 million years ago to 65 million years ago. Howard Temperley, our author, enhances your learning as he writes hilarious, clever dinosaur poems that teach with wonderful knowledge and fun.
Temperley previously taught American history at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. But when he had grandchildren, they prompted him to share his dinosaur knowledge through his funny poems. And when the children took them to school to share, they were so well-loved by the students and teachers, he was asked to write more. So he eventually ended up with an outstanding, 80-page dinosaur book of which you and your child can now reap the benefits.
Having taught first and second grades myself, I know how much children love to learn about dinosaurs. This book would make an outstanding birthday present or an unbelievable Christmas gift. It is truly unusual in that it presents so many different learning opportunities.
The book takes rhyming poetry and matches it with adorable and funny, detailed illustrations while teaching modern thought and theories about dinosaurs. Our illustrator, Michael Kline, has a gift for imbuing animals with human thoughts and is a man whose drawings bring words to life for people of all ages. His art has illustrated more than 40 books and Kids Discovery Magazine as well.
But this is no regular children’s dinosaur book. It is filled with dinosaurs about which I’m guessing most college graduates don’t even know, and you will love reading the poems for your children or with your children as you learn this new information.For instance, a Parasaurolophus (PAR-ah-SAWR-oh-LOAF-us) is described with the following excerpt:
“No creature had a louder roar
Than this crested dinosaur,
Its nasal passages being a type
Of resonating organ pipe,
So remarkably long and wide,
A full-grown man could stand inside.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard of this dinosaur and these facts. And the fun and rhythmic technique with which it is presented helped me to remember the information much better than if I was just writing the facts down and memorizing them.
This book will help any child researching dinosaurs to find interesting information to share as well. The book begins with a wonderful contents section that is divided into easily understandable and logical parts. You first meet the dinosaurs, learn about who looks for them, find out about dinosaurs that take to the air and sea, and even find unusual things about other dinosaurs. Our author is extremely thorough, discussing the age of the dinosaurs and the end of the age of the dinosaurs too.
And with the contents section you have a chance to teach your child important research skills, such as how to find the correct page on which something specific is located. I’ve seen this appear as a tested skill on standardized tests over and over.
I’m dying to tell you about one of my favorite parts of the entire book, called “Dinosaur Attack!” But I’m not going to ruin it for you. You’re just going to have to buy the book and find out for yourself. But in my opinion, this would be a worthwhile expenditure that you won’t regret making. The book is just filled with hours upon hours of fun, with learning included as a bonus.
This book also offers the opportunity for learning to sound out words. All of the dinosaur names are phonetically spelled out to teach and to help everyone pronounce the words correctly. Teachers and parents alike will love this book for providing them with thrilling material to use to discover all of these new words – for example – Pterosaurs (TER-uh-SAWRS).
There is also an excellent dinosaur timeline in which Temperley discusses the Triassic Period, the Jurassic Period and the Cretaceous Period. All are very nicely laid out on the pages, and Temperley places the dinosaurs that existed during those periods in their proper eras.Learning to enjoy poetry is another important aspect of this book. I think far too many people think poetry is useless and dull.
But with the expansive vocabulary used and the information included in these poems, no one could be bored. I’m sure that you will find yourself and your child memorizing the fun verses and enjoying repeating them to one another for days after you’ve read and reread this book.
I can without a doubt award “There Were Dinosaurs Everywhere” my “tiara” stamp of approval. This one easily rates 4 out of 5 tiaras. It is filled with fun, exciting new information for inquisitive children who want to learn about dinosaurs in an amazing way. If I were you, I’d definitely be writing down this information on my to-purchase list. Remember “There Were Dinosaurs Everywhere.” It’s what I’d refer to as a complete dinosaur encyclopedia of poetic and imaginative learning.
Have a lot of fun while reading about dinosaurs with your child and their friends. Use this book to allow your child to dazzle the teacher and classmates with Temperley’s humorous poetry — just like his own grandchildren did. This book will never fossilize on your child’s book shelf!
Buice, a Carrollton resident, writes a weekly column for the Times-Georgian. anitabook.com
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