How to Keep Dinosaurs FROM THE PUBLISHER
Hollywood and the popular press would have us believe that all dinosaurs are gigantic, hostile and untameable. In fact, there are many species that make charming and even useful companions. From the city apartment dweller looking for a pet to the country estate owner looking to tighten up on security, this book proves that there is a dinosaur for everyone.
From the ever-popular Compsognathus (mild-mannered and affectionate - once it has learnt to recognize its owner) and Coelophysis (makes an excellent ball boy and can be trained to play simple chord sequences on the piano), to the more demanding Ankylosaurus (slow, squat, untrustworthy and dangerous - but not without its admirers) and Brachiosaurus (the very Everest of dinosaur-keeping, a challenge only for the bravest), spectacular colour photographs and detailed notes profile nearly 60 beasts.
How to Keep Dinosaurs is packed with the sort of information keen dinosaur-keepers crave - from feeding and housing to curing common ailments, breeding and showing your animal. It will even tell you where you can purchase your new pet. The author, a zoologist with extensive experience of dinosaurs, has provided a timely and much-needed source book for all those who keep dinosaurs and for the huge numbers who are contemplating getting one.
This book is as essential to every dinosaur-keeper as a stout shovel and a tranquilizer rifle.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-A highly entertaining satire based on the notion that people keep dinosaurs as pets. The premise is maintained with tongue in cheek from the foreword to closing acknowledgments. In between are more than 50 care guides for various prehistoric reptiles. Starting with easier pets such as "compies" (Compsognathus) and recreational species ("Ornithomimus is a delight to ride-as long you can avoid trotting"), readers learn about the general qualities of each creature as well as feeding, housing, breeding, and availability. Subsequent chapters include flying pets, security dinosaurs, and those suitable for zoos and safari parks, as well as species kept for their eggs, meat, hides, and feathers. DK-style page layouts include inset photos of the dinosaurs, sometimes demonstrating one of their talents, such as the trainable Troodon making toast. Occasional full-page photos are especially funny; one example shows a well-dressed man walking his Nodosaurus with a large shovel prepared for clean up. The physical descriptions relate scientific fact, while the added funny bits often expand on actual characteristics. Mash consistently sticks to his deadpan voice so the frequent jokes stay fresh and unpredictable. Completely new illustrations, a reworked layout, and several new dinosaurs make this is a successful update of the first edition (Viking, 1983; o.p.). Adults might be the most appropriate audience here, given the sophisticated vocabulary and occasional ribald humor. However, older dinosaur aficionados with a taste for irreverence will love it, and it has great potential for booktalking.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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