Let's Go Dinosaur Tracking!

Conventional wisdom suggests that this teaming of a science writer with a picture book illustrator should have worked (witness the success of Cole and Degen's Magic School Bus series), but this fact and fiction mix just doesn't jell. One problem may be the broken narrative line: it's difficult to follow a story that seems merely wrapped around a collection of facts. Additionally, in both text and art the boundaries between imagination and scientific observation blur and often disappear totally. The nameless scientist and the three anonymous, dinosaur-crazy kids move abruptly through time and space in search of fossilized tracks without the aid of any device to facilitate or justify the action. Though there's much information here and some very appealing art, these talented collaborators will certainly disappoint their intended audience. Ages 6-9. (Sept.)