View source for Triassic Terrors by Isaac Lenkiewicz and Nick Crumpton

{{infobox2
|title=Triassic Terrors
|author=Isaac Lenkiewicz and Nick Crumpton
|reviewer=Margaret Young
|genre=Confident Readers
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1909263055
|pages=32
|publisher=Flying Eye Books
|date=June 2013
|aznuk=1909263052
|aznus=1909263052
|cover=1909263052
|website=http://littleseamonsters.tumblr.com/
|video=
|summary=A fun activity book,with very accurate, easy to understand information on Triassic reptiles as well.
}}
With a  son who has insisted he will become a palaeontologist since the age of three, we have collected a vast assortment of books on dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. I have never found one yet which so clearly explains exactly what is and is not a dinosaur. The majority of the reptiles in this book are not dinosaurs. The Triassic saw the very first of the dinosaurs to walk the earth, and these were much smaller than their Jurassic and Cretaceous counterparts. There is no shortage of fascinating creatures here though. This book has a wide variety of reptilian life, made all the more fascinating by the fact that these are creatures we see very little of in other books. The text in this book is limited, as this is primarily an activity book, but what is there is surprisingly informative. Books focussing on the Triassic period for children are few and far between. This is a rare treasure for any child with more than a passing interest in dinosaurs, and an absolute must have for budding palaeontologists.

This book begins with an explanation of what The Triassic is, before touching briefly on mass extinctions, including the most catastrophic of all time, the Permian Extinction. It  has an excellent activity featuring a geological timeline which will help children learn the different eras and periods, information on various species both dinosaurs and other survivors of the Permian Period. There is a limited amount on flying reptiles (there were not so many at this time) and an excellent section on aquatic reptiles. Mixed in with all of this information, there are all sorts of activities to try. Some of these are just pure and simple fun, like a board game or a magnet fishing game, but others seriously encourage a child to use scientific thought and reasoning. Children are asked to identify and classify animals as well as to draw in missing features of animals, reminding them that palaeontologists often have to speculate with incomplete fossils and make guesses based on known animals. The book ends with a very complete glossary just in case any of the words are unfamiliar.

The illustrations are somewhat reminiscent of comic books - which is a compliment coming from me. Most of them are quite well done and they do add to the book. Why do I say most of them? Because  in a few cases the illustration quality will be up to your child. There are a few places to draw your own pictures and even step by step instructions for a couple of animals. My sons especially loved the Hyperodapedon search.

My sons are ages 5 and 8. Both boys enjoyed this book and I believe it could suit children from ages 4 - 12. Of course children at the younger end of this scale may find a few activities too difficult, but there is still more than enough age-appropriate material to both entertain and educate even the youngest child. We do have an exceptionally large collection of dinosaur books and have read at least one nearly every week for the last 5 years.  In addition, I read adult palaeontology books as well.  Because of this I can't really say I learned anything from this myself, but I do believe most adults would find something new. I know if I had read this five years ago it would have been fascinating - even for an adult. But while I do have much of this material in far more complex books, I have yet to find one that really makes this so easy for a child to understand, so I am certain that both of my sons have learned something from this, and more importantly everything they have learned has stuck. But this is not a book children will see as educational. To a child this book is just fun, but that is the best way to learn - by having fun.  I have already searched unsuccessfully  for more books by the same author. He has a real talent for making science come naturally to children and I can't wait for his next book.

[[The Comic Strip Book of Dinosaurs by Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner]]

[[If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today by Dougal Dixon]]

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[[Category:Isaac Lenkiewicz]]
[[Category:Nick Crumpton]]
[[Category:For Sharing]]