That's No Dino! Or Is It? What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker and Marie-Eve Tremblay - ESSENTIAL

That's No Dino! Or Is It? What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker and Marie-Eve Tremblay, PICTURE BOOK Kids Can Press, 2021. $18. 9781525300233 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS  - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

All dinosaurs had some specific things in common, like a backbone, and they weren't mammals or amphibians - they had to be reptiles to be a dinosaur. They also had to live during the Mesozoic era. Each page describes a prehistoric animal, and then compares it to the growing list of Dino requirements, if any don't apply, it's not a dino! What? Not everything was a dinosaur way back then! 

Full page drawings with labels describe these ancient beasts, and the great text not only tells about the animal, but we learn about what scientists think - I love that there are several "probablys" which leave the field open for further discoveries. I feel like I know so much more about dinosaurs now!  Showing this one to my local dinosaur museum for their gift shop, and putting a copy in my middle school.

Lisa Librarian