Dinosaur: Digging Up a Giant

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

The images of Ron Broda’s exquisite paper sculptures featured in this
book depict activities at the dinosaur digs and museum in Drumheller.
Chris McGowan has woven a story around the images. Although the cover
might lead you to believe that the book is about dinosaurs, it’s
really about paleontologists and what they do.

The reading level is upper elementary or above, which is unusual for a
picture book. The name of the liquid plastic used to preserve dinosaur
bones is an example of the kind of technical detail the book provides.

Dinosaur has an oddly unscientific ending. In the last line, McGowan
declares that “the paleontologists and technicians have made
Corythosaurus live again!” Jurassic Park aside, the last time I
looked, the dinosaurs were still dead. This dinosaur book is remarkable
for its illustrations. Recommended for school and public libraries.