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The Dinosaurs series by the Italian team of paleontologist Marco Signore and paleontological illustrator Matteo Bacchin1 comprises six books set in the Mesozoic Era, the Age of the Dinosaurs. Book number four in the series, Growing Up in the Cretaceous: Scipionyx, tells the story of a small theropod or meat-eating dinosaur that lived in the Early Cretaceous Period, towards the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs.
The first half of the book is a beautifully illustrated animated tale of a young Scipionyx named Little Claw, the oldest of his brood of hatchlings. We follow the day-to-day life of Little Claw, watching as he goes from a newly hatched, chick-like dinosaur to a scrappy if unwary youngster, one whom his parents have to vigilantly guard against a herd of curious hadrosaurs and the dangerous predator Baryonyx. Finally, we see the little Scipionyx become a young adult and set off to establish his own territory.
The second half of the book presents technical information about the Scipionyx and about dinosaurs in general, such as dinosaur evolutionary charts and the structural features, habitat and other notable characteristics of Scipionyx and related dinosaurs.
Detailed photos of a juvenile Scipionyx fossil found in the Pietraroja deposit of Italy form a point of interest here. This specimen is notable both for being that of an extremely young theropod, perhaps newly hatched from its egg, as well as for the unusually well-preserved internal organs of the specimen.
Growing Up in the Cretaceous: Scipionyx really combines two books into one, with the simple animated tale of a young dinosaur oddly juxtaposed against technically detailed essays on dinosaur geology and paleontology. The first half of the book seems geared towards a young audience, given the simple nature of the tale and lack of a dramatic focus to the animated story.
However, the notes that follow are chock full of paleontological information that is geared towards a much older child or adult who is particularly interested in dinosaurs and/or paleontology in general. For a serious dinosaur buff however, this book will make a nice addition to a paleo-themed book collection.
[1In the fourth (Scipionyxand fifth books of this series, Chiara Belleello drew the story illustrations; Matteo Bacchin drew and colored covers and intros, wrote the story and designed the characters.]
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Usha Reynolds/2010 for curled
up with a good kid's book |
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Growing Up in the Cretaceous: Scipionyx (Dinosaurs #4)