'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday 30 May 2017

Review: The Prehistoric Times

The Prehistoric Times is straight from the Natural History Museum in London, to readers around the world.

Designed to look like a cross between a newspaper and a magazine, A4 in size, and produced in black, white, and red.

With headlines, feature stories and plenty of images, The Prehistoric Times includes dinosaur trivia, quizzes, drawing activities, and a variety of puzzles.

Dinosaurs are profiled throughout, with a 'Prehistoric Profile' on each page. The dinosaurs are each described in terms of their size, noticeable features, most interesting facts, and peacefulness (zilch, low, pretty high, and so on).

Advertisements tout dino-themed experiences, like Duckbills & Trills (the Cretaceous Choir) and Barry-Onyx's Fish Bar (the 'plaice' for you, where you get 10 pebbles off if you show your game ticket).

There is a lot for young readers to enjoy, although some of the humour may be better understood by adults.

There are answers to the activities in the back of the book (dot-to-dots, word searches, mazes, spot the meteorites, and more), and an index labelled the 'Prehistoric Roundup' which is a guide to the different dinosaurs, the meaning of their names, and the periods in which they lived.

The Prehistoric Times is a clever and creative way of exploring the dinosaur world. Start at the beginning with a letter from the editor, choose from the table of contents, or select a page at random.

Jam-packed with information and things to do, The Prehistoric Times is a perfect activity book, and much more, for dinosaur afficionados.

Title: The Prehistoric Times
Author: Stella Gurney
Illustrator: Matthew Hodson and Neave Parker
Publisher: Quarto Group, $10.99
Publication Date: May 2017
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781847809193
For ages: 5-8 years
Type: Activity book