内容简介
Some dinosaurs were big. How big? As long as four school buses in a row, as heavy as sixteen elephants. Some dinosaurs were small. How small? Read and find out!
作者简介
Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld is the award-winning author of more than sixty books, including Dinosaur Tracks, "a great choice for even the most discriminating dinophiles" (School Library Journal); Did Dinosaurs Have Feathers?, a Children's Book of the Month Club selection described as "fascinating" by Kirkus Reviews; and Dinosaurs Big and Small, a 2003 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award winner. When she's not reading, researching, writing, or editing, Kathleen loves to spend her free time exploring, doing fieldwork, and preparing fossils in the laboratory for her local natural history museums. She lives in Berkeley, California.
精彩书评
Children's Literature How big was the biggest dinosaur? How small was the smallest? This book, geared toward teaching preschoolers and kindergartners simple science concepts, shows size difference in a way that children can understand. A picture of a dinosaur with 22 kids laid next to him, shows children how long 89 feet really is. Another picture of a Brachiosaurus next to 16 elephants shows children how much the dinosaur could weigh. Of course, the dinosaurs are described in simple terms, and the pictures to illustrate the book go well with the words. The concept of size is described by the words as well as the illustrations in this book. The last pages of the book describe the name, weight, and length, as well as containing a picture of the dinosaur. A drawing of a human and an elephant is also included to show once again the size in relation to something that a young child can understand. 2002, HarperCollins, — Nicole Peterson 0064451828 0060279354 School Library Journal Gr 2-4-Discussing the wide variety of sizes in the dinosaur lexicon, Zoehfeld's simple text presents kids, school buses, and elephants as yardsticks for the measurement of a number of weighty sauropods and lesser lights, from the massive Argentinosaurus to the cat-sized Compsognathus. Washburn's eye-catching illustrations, in glowing rusts and purples, blues and greens, march step-by-step with the text. Included is a double-page lineup of all the mentioned saurians, with a brief note on each one that gives its scientific name, pronunciation, length, and weight. Brightly colored, informative, and on a cherished topic, the book is certain to gather no shelf-sitter dust.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. Fewer Reviews Kirkus Reviews An introduction to dinosaurs for younger readers, this Stage 1 "Lets-Read-And-Find-Out Science" title describes big and little dinosaurs from Diplodocus, "one of the biggest," to Mussaurus, only as large as a baby-bird when hatched. More recent giants, like Seismosaurus, Argentinosaurus, and Brachiosaurus are also introduced in the same low-keyed fashion. The author explains the latter may have weighed as much as 16 elephants, and the illustrator obligingly shows a tower of 16 elephants. The author provides size comparisons throughout; for example, Giganotosaurus had teeth "the size of a banana," and Seismosaurus at 130 feet long was, "longer than 4 school buses." Soft chalk drawings in buff, blue, and purple, show the kinder gentler side of dinosaurs-even the meat-eaters look somewhat cuddly. The illustrator concludes with a scale drawing of the dinosaurs presented, including an elephant and a human for scale. While there is little new here, this is a non-threatening additional purchase for the dinosaur set. (Nonfiction. 5-7)
前言/序言
揭秘史前巨兽:一个关于恐龙的奇妙世界 这是一本献给所有对古老生命充满好奇心的孩子们的书。 准备好踏上一段穿越时空的惊险旅程了吗?忘记你所知道的一切,我们将回到数百万年前,探索地球上曾经称霸的生物——恐龙。这本书将带领小小的探险家们,深入了解这些令人敬畏的爬行动物的日常生活、它们的习性,以及它们留给我们的宝贵印记。 本书超越了简单的图片展示,它深入浅出地构建了一个完整的史前生态系统,让孩子们以一种互动且引人入胜的方式,开始他们的古生物学初探。 --- 第一章:时间旅行者的召唤 我们如何知道这些庞然大物曾经存在?一切都始于“化石”——那些埋藏在岩石深处的骨头、牙齿和脚印。 化石的奥秘: 什么是化石? 我们会详细解释,当古代生物死亡后,它们的遗骸是如何被泥沙快速覆盖,经过漫长岁月的矿化作用,最终变成坚硬的石头。这不是魔法,而是地球深层的化学反应。 考古现场初体验: 想象自己是一名考古学家,小心翼翼地用小刷子和凿子清理出一块嵌在砂岩中的骨头。我们会介绍发现恐龙遗骸的典型环境,比如干燥的沙漠或古代的河床。 地图上的发现点: 探索世界上著名的恐龙化石发掘地,从中国辽宁的精美羽毛化石,到美国蒙大拿州的“恐龙墓地”,了解不同地质时期和地理位置孕育了哪些独特的物种。 --- 第二章:巨人的时代——白垩纪的黎明 恐龙统治了地球超过一亿六千万年,这是一个漫长到难以想象的时代,远超人类历史的总和。我们将重点聚焦于那些最具代表性的恐龙。 植食性巨人的生活: 长颈的智慧: 探究腕龙和梁龙这类蜥脚类恐龙。它们如何支撑起如此庞大的身躯?它们每天需要吃多少植物才能维持生命?我们将分析它们的巨大胃容量和缓慢的移动速度所带来的生存挑战。 装甲的防御: 认识三角龙,它那令人印象深刻的颈盾和三根犀利的角是如何演化出来的?这些防御工具是用来威吓捕食者,还是用于种群内部的竞争? “活着的城堡”——甲龙: 介绍披着厚厚骨板的甲龙。它的尾巴末端那沉重的骨锤是怎样挥动的?这种被动的防御策略在凶猛的肉食恐龙面前究竟有多有效? --- 第三章:掠食者的阴影 地球生态系统的平衡需要捕食者来维持。这些恐龙是自然界最顶尖的猎手,它们的身体构造是为速度、力量和精准捕猎而生的杰作。 速度与力量的结合: 恐龙之王——霸王龙的解剖学: 深入研究霸王龙(T. Rex)的颌骨结构。它的咬合力有多强?它那标志性的小短前肢究竟有什么用处?我们不会仅仅停留在“它很大”的层面,而是分析它的每一块肌肉、每一颗牙齿如何完美地服务于顶级掠食者的角色。 敏捷的追击者——迅猛龙群: 介绍伶盗龙(Velociraptor)。现代科学如何证明它们是群居动物?它们脚上那标志性的镰刀状爪子是如何在协同狩猎中发挥作用的?我们将展示它们如何依靠团队合作,而不是单纯的力量去伏击猎物。 空中与水中的竞争者: 虽然严格来说它们不算“恐龙”,但在这个时代,巨大的翼龙翱翔天际,而凶猛的沧龙则统治着海洋。我们将简要介绍这些与恐龙共存的史前巨兽,构建完整的史前生物圈。 --- 第四章:恐龙的秘密生活与抚育后代 恐龙不仅仅是巨大的食肉机器,它们也有复杂的行为模式、社交结构,并且展现出了令人惊讶的育儿本能。 巢穴与家庭: 孵化与成长: 我们会考察慈母龙(Maiasaura,意为“好妈妈蜥蜴”)的发现,展示恐龙是如何照顾它们的幼崽的。恐龙蛋的结构是怎样的?孵化出来的小恐龙是能立即奔跑,还是需要父母喂养数月? 羽毛的谜团: 揭示了现代古生物学的一个重要发现——许多恐龙,尤其是兽脚亚目恐龙,拥有羽毛。这些羽毛最初是用来保暖、吸引配偶,还是仅仅是炫耀的装饰?我们将展示一些带有精美羽毛化石的物种。 恐龙的语言: 它们是如何交流的?是通过低沉的吼叫,还是通过身体姿态和颜色展示?分析一些骨骼结构(如中空的骨头)暗示的可能发声方式。 --- 第五章:大灭绝与地球的重生 所有的辉煌都有终结的一天。大约六千六百万年前,一场灾难彻底改变了地球的历史进程。 小行星撞击的证据: “那一天的天空”: 我们将追溯关于白垩纪-古近纪(K-Pg)灭绝事件的主流科学理论——一颗巨大的小行星撞击了今天的墨西哥尤卡坦半岛。 铱元素层: 介绍地质学家如何在世界各地发现一层富含铱的粘土层,这是小行星撞击后散播的标志性证据。 幸存者的足迹: 谁在这次灾难中幸存了下来?正是那些体型较小、食谱更灵活的生物,包括我们今天看到的鸟类的祖先。恐龙时代的落幕,为哺乳动物的崛起铺平了道路。 --- 结语:我们今天的联系 通过研究恐龙,我们不仅了解了过去,也更好地理解了地球的变迁和生命演化的力量。每一块化石都是一个讲述了数百万年故事的信使。 这本书的目的是激发: 好奇心: 鼓励孩子们提出“为什么”和“怎么样”的问题。 科学思维: 介绍基本的科学探索方法,比如观察、假设和证据搜集。 对自然的敬畏: 明白我们脚下的这片土地承载着比我们想象中更宏大、更古老的历史。 翻开下一页,让您的孩子成为新一代的恐龙探索家!