Graveyards of the Dinosaurs: What It's Like to Discover Prehistoric Creatures

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Imagine you are a full-grown oviraptor (i.e., a parrot-faced dinosaur
that steals eggs from other dinosaurs). You have a nest full of little
egg crunchers who are calling for their breakfast. You went out hunting
but ran into two razor-clawed velociraptors who want you for their
breakfast instead. And now, your biggest problem: you, your nest, and
your enemies have just been buried alive in a massive sandstorm and the
only thing you can look forward to for the next 70 million years is the
possibility that some mammals will someday discover your bones and write
a book about you.

This fourth title in the I Was There series by Shelley Tanaka gives the
reader a front-row view of dramatic disasters that happened long ago.
After describing the last moments of several types of dinosaurs, the
author explains how paleontologists discovered their fossils and the
clues that tell us how they died. In a book that combines fictional but
historically accurate prose, photographs, maps, and full-color photos
and illustrations, Tanaka brings these long-dead reptiles to life in the
imagination of the reader. She connects young readers to the text by
describing how many paleontologists turned their childhood hobbies into
careers that blend detective work with dinosaur-hunting. Highly
recommended.