The Littlest Dinosaurs

Following up Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? , If Dinosaurs Came Back and Dinosaur Cousins , Most treats readers to a look at the tiny dinosaurs that co-existed with their gigantic cousins. Moving in scale from a 13-foot Coloradisaurus (about the size of a see-saw) down to a an eight-inch-long Mussaurus (about the size of a teddy bear, and just right for taking to bed), the book puts everything in relative perspective. The strength of the concept--that by putting dinosaurs into modern contexts readers can easily comprehend their various sizes--is also its weakness, for it distances readers from a real understanding of how these little ones lived. The dinosaurs, who are squeezed into telephone booths, onto living room couches, onto sleds or tricycles, resemble toys instead of creatures from the past. Also, but for a few modifications, they resemble one another too closely. It's a good idea, bound to capture the imaginations of readers, but the execution does not sustain it. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)