Tag Greer Stothers

Kaleidoscope of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life / Dinosaurs Rock!

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Kaleidoscope of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life
Greer Stothers
Wide Eyed Editions

If you thought that dinosaurs were just brown and green, then this book will make you think again.
By means of fossil evidence and modern scientific information that uses examples of living species, author/illustrator Greer Stothers, presents a fascinating, vibrant array of prehistoric creatures like we’ve never seen before’ showing them as they might have been with colours and patterns.
Some of the ideas are speculative and based on what is already known about modern equivalents:

the author visits different locations – polar regions, the sea, forests, deserts – for instance, as well as using art from such places as the Ice Age Americas, ancient Africa, the cave paintings in France from which to hypothesise. We’re also given a look at primeval plants some of which died out alongside non-avian dinosaurs while others survive today.

The ‘Mighty Melanin’ spread is especially rich in detail explaining how this pigment is contained within tiny melanosomes that can be preserved in fossil feathers, scales and skin, thus offering information on the original colours. However every single spread offers plenty of food for thought: What would mutant dinosaurs have looked like? Would a dinosaur living in a snowy region have been super-white?

What role did camouflage play in the time of dinosaurs?

With the countless young dinosaur enthusiasts out there, always hungry for more, the approach taken by Greer Stothers (who studied evolutionary biology at university) offers something stimulating and exciting.

Dinosaurs Rock!
Dougie Poynter
Macmillan Children’s Books

Dino fanatic (eco-warrior and bassist from McFly) Dougie Poynter turns his attention back to dinosaurs, but in a non-fiction book for older primary readers this time. He adopts a light-hearted style but this doesn’t mean that the writing is light on information, far from it. Dougie introduces readers to a wealth of dino-related topics. Before that though, we’re taken right back to the dawn of life on earth for a brief history of how these creatures evolved.

We get up close to a variety of dinosaurs with several profiles including the author’s favourites and then meet five experts on the topic some of whom work in the field of palaeontology. There’s a section on fossil evidence and we read something about Mary Anning and her discoveries in the field, as well as two Americans who started out as friends but then become arch rivals both making lots of mistakes in their efforts to become top palaeontologist.

Also included are a scattering of dino jokes, some historical errors, a sprinkling of true or false statements including this one – Dinosaurs were cold-blooded – that scientists still have different opinions on, with the majority currently thinking that most were warm-blooded.

Lots of the content is presented infographics style, which makes it more easily digested.

Kaleidoscope of Creatures

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Kaleidoscope of Creatures
Cath Ard and Greer Stothers
Wide Eyed Editions

This is a fascinating look at the reasons underlying the amazing hues, patterns and textures (feather, fur and scales) of members of the animal kingdom.

After a general introduction, the opening spreads are devoted in turn, to an animal family tree that gives information about the characteristics each group has in common, followed by a close-up look at different examples of body coverings – fur, scales – reptilian and fish – and feathers.

Thereafter come a series of spreads where animals – both well known and unusual species – are grouped by the colour of their outer covering (brief explanations are given) be that red,

orange or pink, yellow, green, blue, indigo or violet, black, white, black and white.
Red for instance may act as a warning as in the red velvet mite whose silky hairs indicate to predators ‘I taste horrible’, as does the body of a scarlet lily beetle. Whereas being green often helps a creature remain unseen be it a forest dweller or one that lives in the sea.

Also helping some animals to stay unseen are designs such as spots and stripes and these are the titles of two further spreads.
Most of us know male peacocks have those amazing tail feathers that open into a stunning fan shape in order to attract a mate, but did you know that to attract a mate, male green iguanas turn carrot-coloured?

Every spread is visually arresting thanks to Greer Stothers’ pleasingly arranged arrays of fabulous fauna each one of which is labelled, with most having accompanying salient facts.

For budding zoologists and school topic boxes, I suggest.