100 Books Like Diggersaurs

From the lizard-looking Dimetrodon to the wooly mammoth to the 1,000-pound turtle-like Glyptodont, as well as the modern-day Latimeria fish species that was believed to have gone extinct millions of years ago (Surprise! It turned up in a fisherman’s net!), puts this book in the “must-read” category. A bouncy rhyming text that highlights large creatures that roamed the Earth both before and alongside dinosaurs, makes this book a win, especially since it lands at a modern-day avian dinosaur that can be seen in tweety parakeet.

A great book with a wonderful message and beautiful illustrations by Dr. Robyn.

The book takes place in prehistoric times and has fun dino details on every page. The main character, Dino Deegan, has trouble making friends, but goes through a transformation throughout the story which is very cleverly visualized as he changes colors at the end.

This should be a classroom tool to teach children about friendship, being kind, and including others in the fun.

To take a break from his day job as Professor Emeritus of Higher Mathematics at Caltech, Eric Temple Bell (John Taine was his pen name) wrote a series of science fiction novels that dealt, not with mathematics, but largely with biology. Any of these are still quite readable today, and notable for their discussion of biology and related fields when most writers of science fiction were focused on physics and space travel.

The Greatest Adventure deals with mutated dinosaurs in Antarctica, which sounds like something out of a 1950s horror film but which Bell uses as the basis for an investigation into science and not schlock. I suspect he utilized the pen name John Taine so as not to embarrass his supercilious colleagues in the math department (or possibly himself).

This is a favorite of mine and my students. Every preschool child loves dinosaurs, and nothing is more exciting and fun than a dinosaur celebrating Shabbat! Laughter abounds when the silly dinosaur makes mistakes just like the mistakes that the children hearing the book have made at Shabbat. The rhymes have a nice flow that keeps the attention of young listeners.

Mr. Jay is a wonderful author and master of rhyme.

In this story, Anda, the T-Rex is convinced she is hexed, why else would she have such bad luck? With the help of a friend, and a positive attitude, she soon learns that anyone can make the best of a situation. The colorful illustrations and fun rhymes help bring the story to life.

This book is great for those who want a more exhaustive reference book. This is one of several good dictionaries of dinosaurs and related terms. It is illustrated in black and white, but the text predominates, and as such it serves as a reliable reference for facts about dinosaurs, including many that are not found in mass-produced gift books. I also like that it includes the etymology of entries. It’s a little old (1983), but was awarded several honors, including being a Golden Kite Honor Book, and ALA Notable Book, and a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book.

Lately, I’m hearing and reading news about recent dinosaur discoveries. It never gets old!

The author obviously loves dinosaurs and science. The writing is informative and never dull. It’s a primer for kids, ages 7 to 12, who want to learn about dinosaur history and science. I loved the author’s enthusiasm for his subjects. He works as a paleontologist and enjoys sharing information about new discoveries.

This book came out a few years ago. It shows the link between dinosaurs and birds. Prior to this, I didn’t know dinosaurs had feathers. The author presents facts about dinosaurs that are easy to understand and appreciate. He’s enthusiastic about dinosaurs, and his enthusiasm is carried throughout the book.

Described by author William Cope as a “road trip” story, the first Tyrantis novel is a fairly mundane and relatable narrative about a young woman’s trip across the United States of America with her close companion—a giant, fire-breathing dinosaur. Yes, this is a “kaiju” novel, and it’s one of the really good ones. It’s also a road trip story, a rollicking adventure through subterranean caverns, colonies of gigantic ants, and sights one might see on a drive across the 50 states. The combination of fantastic and mundane is exactly my jam.

In addition to his Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure story delivers world-class excitement and deeply satisfying reading. Doyle’s story of explorers who find living dinosaurs in the Amazonian rainforest can hardly be matched for its originality.

I read it long ago and found it so memorable it was worth another read more recently. And I’m glad I did. The dinosaurs are portrayed dramatically, to say the least, but I was also impressed by rereading that the characters were quite ingenious. Professor Challenger, the expedition leader, is a gruff, highly irascible fellow, given to brawling as much as to debate. Ned Malone, newspaper reporter, and central “I “ character is a riveting taleteller and keen observer of dinosaurian and human nature.

Like Wilford’s book, this one goes through the history of palaeontology, but puts it in the context of society at the time. For example the general appreciation of the dinosaur in the last 150 years has gone from an amazing curiosity, through a symbol of something that was too clumsy to survive, through a metaphor for our own vulnerability to climate change or pollution or nuclear annihilation, to the venerable ancestor of our lovely birds . . . It can be a bit nerdy at times – overly detailed plot lines of particular films or comic books – and can be somewhat repetitive – the same examples cropping up again and again. The sweep of the work references other writers in the field – including Septhen Jay Gould, Donald F. Glut and the above John Noble Wilford – giving a great coverage of the subject