內容簡介
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!
作者簡介
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.
精彩書評
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
揭秘史前巨獸:一個關於恐龍的奇妙世界 這是一本獻給所有對古老生命充滿好奇心的孩子們的書。 準備好踏上一段穿越時空的驚險旅程瞭嗎?忘記你所知道的一切,我們將迴到數百萬年前,探索地球上曾經稱霸的生物——恐龍。這本書將帶領小小的探險傢們,深入瞭解這些令人敬畏的爬行動物的日常生活、它們的習性,以及它們留給我們的寶貴印記。 本書超越瞭簡單的圖片展示,它深入淺齣地構建瞭一個完整的史前生態係統,讓孩子們以一種互動且引人入勝的方式,開始他們的古生物學初探。 --- 第一章:時間旅行者的召喚 我們如何知道這些龐然大物曾經存在?一切都始於“化石”——那些埋藏在岩石深處的骨頭、牙齒和腳印。 化石的奧秘: 什麼是化石? 我們會詳細解釋,當古代生物死亡後,它們的遺骸是如何被泥沙快速覆蓋,經過漫長歲月的礦化作用,最終變成堅硬的石頭。這不是魔法,而是地球深層的化學反應。 考古現場初體驗: 想象自己是一名考古學傢,小心翼翼地用小刷子和鑿子清理齣一塊嵌在砂岩中的骨頭。我們會介紹發現恐龍遺骸的典型環境,比如乾燥的沙漠或古代的河床。 地圖上的發現點: 探索世界上著名的恐龍化石發掘地,從中國遼寜的精美羽毛化石,到美國濛大拿州的“恐龍墓地”,瞭解不同地質時期和地理位置孕育瞭哪些獨特的物種。 --- 第二章:巨人的時代——白堊紀的黎明 恐龍統治瞭地球超過一億六韆萬年,這是一個漫長到難以想象的時代,遠超人類曆史的總和。我們將重點聚焦於那些最具代錶性的恐龍。 植食性巨人的生活: 長頸的智慧: 探究腕龍和梁龍這類蜥腳類恐龍。它們如何支撐起如此龐大的身軀?它們每天需要吃多少植物纔能維持生命?我們將分析它們的巨大胃容量和緩慢的移動速度所帶來的生存挑戰。 裝甲的防禦: 認識三角龍,它那令人印象深刻的頸盾和三根犀利的角是如何演化齣來的?這些防禦工具是用來威嚇捕食者,還是用於種群內部的競爭? “活著的城堡”——甲龍: 介紹披著厚厚骨闆的甲龍。它的尾巴末端那沉重的骨錘是怎樣揮動的?這種被動的防禦策略在凶猛的肉食恐龍麵前究竟有多有效? --- 第三章:掠食者的陰影 地球生態係統的平衡需要捕食者來維持。這些恐龍是自然界最頂尖的獵手,它們的身體構造是為速度、力量和精準捕獵而生的傑作。 速度與力量的結閤: 恐龍之王——霸王龍的解剖學: 深入研究霸王龍(T. Rex)的頜骨結構。它的咬閤力有多強?它那標誌性的小短前肢究竟有什麼用處?我們不會僅僅停留在“它很大”的層麵,而是分析它的每一塊肌肉、每一顆牙齒如何完美地服務於頂級掠食者的角色。 敏捷的追擊者——迅猛龍群: 介紹伶盜龍(Velociraptor)。現代科學如何證明它們是群居動物?它們腳上那標誌性的鐮刀狀爪子是如何在協同狩獵中發揮作用的?我們將展示它們如何依靠團隊閤作,而不是單純的力量去伏擊獵物。 空中與水中的競爭者: 雖然嚴格來說它們不算“恐龍”,但在這個時代,巨大的翼龍翱翔天際,而凶猛的滄龍則統治著海洋。我們將簡要介紹這些與恐龍共存的史前巨獸,構建完整的史前生物圈。 --- 第四章:恐龍的秘密生活與撫育後代 恐龍不僅僅是巨大的食肉機器,它們也有復雜的行為模式、社交結構,並且展現齣瞭令人驚訝的育兒本能。 巢穴與傢庭: 孵化與成長: 我們會考察慈母龍(Maiasaura,意為“好媽媽蜥蜴”)的發現,展示恐龍是如何照顧它們的幼崽的。恐龍蛋的結構是怎樣的?孵化齣來的小恐龍是能立即奔跑,還是需要父母喂養數月? 羽毛的謎團: 揭示瞭現代古生物學的一個重要發現——許多恐龍,尤其是獸腳亞目恐龍,擁有羽毛。這些羽毛最初是用來保暖、吸引配偶,還是僅僅是炫耀的裝飾?我們將展示一些帶有精美羽毛化石的物種。 恐龍的語言: 它們是如何交流的?是通過低沉的吼叫,還是通過身體姿態和顔色展示?分析一些骨骼結構(如中空的骨頭)暗示的可能發聲方式。 --- 第五章:大滅絕與地球的重生 所有的輝煌都有終結的一天。大約六韆六百萬年前,一場災難徹底改變瞭地球的曆史進程。 小行星撞擊的證據: “那一天的天空”: 我們將追溯關於白堊紀-古近紀(K-Pg)滅絕事件的主流科學理論——一顆巨大的小行星撞擊瞭今天的墨西哥尤卡坦半島。 銥元素層: 介紹地質學傢如何在世界各地發現一層富含銥的粘土層,這是小行星撞擊後散播的標誌性證據。 幸存者的足跡: 誰在這次災難中幸存瞭下來?正是那些體型較小、食譜更靈活的生物,包括我們今天看到的鳥類的祖先。恐龍時代的落幕,為哺乳動物的崛起鋪平瞭道路。 --- 結語:我們今天的聯係 通過研究恐龍,我們不僅瞭解瞭過去,也更好地理解瞭地球的變遷和生命演化的力量。每一塊化石都是一個講述瞭數百萬年故事的信使。 這本書的目的是激發: 好奇心: 鼓勵孩子們提齣“為什麼”和“怎麼樣”的問題。 科學思維: 介紹基本的科學探索方法,比如觀察、假設和證據搜集。 對自然的敬畏: 明白我們腳下的這片土地承載著比我們想象中更宏大、更古老的曆史。 翻開下一頁,讓您的孩子成為新一代的恐龍探索傢!