Digging Canadian Dinosaurs

Marie St. Onge-Davidson is president of the Essential English Centre in
Ottawa.

Digging Canadian Dinosaurs successfully brings together some of the more
important dinosaur findings in Canada, from Nova Scotia to British
Columbia.

The book opens with an interesting introduction to the study of
dinosaur life and the ancient period in which they lived; seven chapters
follow. The chapter “Dinosaur People Past and Present” profiles
people who have contributed to the hunting and study of dinosaurs,
including Aboriginals, paleontologists, and geologists. “Figuring Out
the Past” explains how modern technology helps to recreate the
dinosaurs’ life and environment. “Where Can I Learn More” provides
a list of options for further dinosaur research. Other chapters focus on
dinosaurs’ unique characteristics, the extinction of the dinosaurs,
and dinosaur fossils. An easy-to-use index refers readers not only to
information in the text but also to the illustrations.

In addition to informative, well-written prose, this excellent work
includes attractive, realistic drawings in earth-tone colours, maps, and
pictures. Captions/sidebars offer interesting anecdotes. Many
difficult-to-pronounce scientific words in the text are followed by
phonetic spellings in parentheses, while others are also defined in a
Glossary and Pronunciation Guide at the end of the book.

Both the Dinosaur Provincial Park (in the Badlands of Alberta) and the
Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, are highlighted, the former
having produced 35 species of dinosaur. Highly recommended.