K-Gr. 3. With Sabuda lending deft paper engineering to artwork rendered by Reinhart, who also wrote this book's text, the Mesozoic's major players leap into three dimensions. Pop-ups featured on the six spreads include a gargantuan brachiosaurus; an anklyosaurus studded with paper spikes; and, perhaps most impressive from a technical standpoint, a minutely detailed T. rex skeleton. Each spread also contains as many as four foldout minibooks, bristling with their own tiny pops. The brief paragraphs of text never go much beyond cute sound bites ("Was It a Can Opener?" asks one headline, referring to the einosaurus' hooked nose horn), and the

abstract, textured style in which the pop elements are painted may frustrate

some children's efforts to imagine how the oddly angled assemblages translate

into real beasts. Information about whether the bold color schemes spring

from fact or simple aesthetics would have been a plus. Will these problems

prevent this from being gobbled up as voraciously as one spread's allosaurus

tucks into a lump of dino flesh? Not on your life. Jennifer Mattson
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