Dinosaurs All Around: An Artist's View of the Prehistoric World - Hardcover

Caroline Arnold always loved books, but as a child she never thought of writing as a career. Born in Pittsburgh, she grew up in Minneapolis and studied art at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa. "It was only after my children were born that I became acquainted with children's books and it occurred to me that I could use my training to become a children's book illustrator. I soon realized that I needed a text to go with the pictures, and the more I wrote, the more I realized that I liked writing as much as or more than drawing. I've always been fascinated by the natural world and love to go to the parks and museums. Perhaps that is why so many of my books are about scientific topics." Arnold is now the award-winning author of more than 100 books for children. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, a neuroscientist, and teaches writing at UCLA Extension. For more information visit www.carolinearnoldbooks.com.

Grade 4-6-- Arnold gives readers a look at artists Stephen and Sylvia Czerkas as they use their considerable expertise to conceive and construct lifelike, life-sized dinosaur models. The large, eye-catching full-color photographs and clear text show the artists' research into the creatures' skin and anatomy before they begin their models, and details the process of assembling them. The author includes information about the dinosaurs, but this is secondary to the construction of the museum replicas and seems to be almost an afterthought. This book is more objective, and certainly more attractive, than the Czerkas's own My Life with the Dinosaurs (Minstrel, 1989). Like William Lindsey's Barosaurus (Dorling Kindersley, 1993), it will probably foster career possibilities beyond paleontology for dinosaur fans. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.