Caramel reviews Dinosaurs (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #1) by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne

A while back, Caramel inherited Marshmallow’s collection of Magic Tree House books and he has been going through them. (For his reviews of books in the series, see Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House #5), Afternoon on the Amazon (Magic Tree House #6), Sunset of the Sabertooth (Magic Tree House #7), Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House #8), Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9), Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House #10), and Lions at Lunchtime (Magic Tree House #11).) He has also been revisiting the accompanying Fact Tracker books. (For his reviews of some of the Fact Tracker books, see Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #2) and Sea Monsters (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #17).) Today he decided to discuss the first ever Fact Tracker book in the series: Dinosaurs. As usual, Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: Okay Caramel, tell me about this book.

Caramel: This is the first Fact Tracker book for the Magic Tree House books. It is supposed to be paired up with the first Magic Tree House book, Dinosaurs Before Dark.

S: Hmm, you did not review that book, but you did read it of course. Right?

C: Right. That was where we first met Jack and Annie, and learned about the magic tree house. In that book, Jack and Annie went back to the time of the dinosaurs.

S: And so this book is written to accompany that one for young bunnies like you who like to learn more facts about the topic of the book.

C: Yes, I always want to know more about dinosaurs and things.

S: I know. You already reviewed a book about dinosaurs for our blog, The Complete Guide to Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Reptiles by Chris McNab.

C: Yes. And I reviewed a whole lot of How Do Dinosaurs … books by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague last week.

S: Of course those latter ones were not really about dinosaurs though they did have a lot of pretty precise drawings. But let us get back to this Fact Tracker book.

the biggest C: Yeah. This book tells us everything humans know about dinosaurs. There are pages for Tyrannosaurus rex, and other meat eaters, and then there are pages and pages of information on plant eating dinosaurs like sauropods, triceratops, and ankylosauruses. Then there is a Hall of Fame. There are lists of the fastest, the biggest, and the ones with the biggest heads, biggest eyes, and the longest necks, and the longest names, and so on.

S: Hmm, what is the one with the biggest eyes?

C: Dromiceiomimus! They had enormous eyes apparently.

S: I had not heard of those before!

S: So even though you are a little bunny who already knew a lot about dinosaurs, you found new things to learn in this book, right?

C: Yep. For example, I learned more about the ankylosauruses. And I learned that the stegosaurus has a brain the size of a hot dog, so small for a dinosaur of that size.

S: So I know you often reread books you have read before. Do you think you will come back to this one again?

C: Yes. I love this book because it is about dinosaurs and I love dinosaurs. And I like the pictures! And sometimes, I forget some facts and then I can remember them when I read the book again.

S: So tell me more about the pictures?

C: They are black and white but very realistic. They are almost 3D, and there are some photographs. I love looking at them. My favorite is the ankylosaurus!

S: That is great Caramel. Tell me your three word summary of this book. Which three words would you use to describe it?

C: Informative, helpful, neat facts, and cool drawings.

S: Hmm, again that is a little bit more than three words, but it’s alright. So let us wrap up our review then. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!