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The picture book, ‘Prehistoric Life’, is a visual dictionary by Dorling Kindersley Publishing. The different eras and what fish, reptiles mammals lived during these times. Children learn about the different types of plants at this time and how they evolved. There is information later on in the book on how Hominids evolved leading up to what and who we are currently. A lesson can be given on any one of these sections in the book during a science lesson in the classroom. Each focus on different parts that deal with science and the history side. The book has a lot of information, but also a lot of pictures; all are set up in a way that shouldn’t be very difficult to follow for children in the 5th grade and up. ( )

The visual guide to prehistoric life is packed from wall to wall with pictures, diagrams, and time lines spanning from the Earth's inception in the big band to present day. It's strengths are the clear diagrams and timelines. Further, the text that is present serves to shore up the pictures and diagrams effectively.

The timelines are shown spiraling though time. The line is peppered along its length by monumental occasions in the Earth's history: The formation of seas as the earth cooled, first single celled organisms, the first dinosaurs and so on.

The overviews for each time periods give the big picture. they show how the earth evolved to its present state and how general groups of organisms evolved with it. While the part of the book based on animal groups offered a lot of detail, the first pages describing the earth's transformation

The majority of the book gives a two page summary on each of many broad groups of animals and plants. Unsurprisingly, nearly all space in this visual guide is devoted to detailed drawings of plant and animal structures and various fossils of the groups. However, the text that is present shows brilliant economy of words. It is clear that the author knew their limitations and got the most bang for their buck by packing as much detail into each sentence as possible. I've seen a number of examples where these space limitations have resulted in too much information in too small a space, making the text difficult to absorb.

I have to admit: I’ve never actually read any of the “Visual Dictionary” books, even though I’ve seen them displayed on bookshelves for years. Because of this, I was absolutely amazed by the illustrations in Dorling Kindersley’s The Visual Dictionary of Prehistoric Life, as well as the intriguing presentation of otherwise stale, traditional information. For me, science has always felt like such a “dead” area of study, especially since so much of what is dissected (literally and figuratively) in science classes is unmoving and cold. However, in sharp contrast to my own science class experiences, The Visual Dictionary of Prehistoric Life (an “identification” book) contextualizes fossils within a living environment; this helps resurrect ancient life in a fashion that is accessible and engaging for readers of all ages.

Much of The Visual Dictionary of Prehistoric Life centers on illustrations, diagrams, and photographs. Clearly, this helps to attract reluctant readers and visual learners, as well as anyone with a desire to learn more about the topic at hand. The juxtaposition of actual fossilized remains (usually represented through photographs) with illustrations of what each animal/plant might have looked like is a fascinating pairing: it allows for students to visually dissect and make connections between the different puzzle pieces of a creature’s anatomy. Each graphic is meticulously labeled, so readers are able to differentiate between different components of skeletons, fossils, etc., and students will undoubtedly retain more anatomical information after seeing it conveyed in this manner.

The writing in The Visual Dictionary of Prehistoric Life is relatively straightforward, but it does require some sophisticated reading skills: many of the Latinate animal and plant names are almost impossible to pronounce, especially without a phonemic key. Some readers might get lost in the scientific terminology of the prose, but the visuals on each page will support reading comprehension. All in all, this is a very effective format for readers to learn about ancient and challenging scientific information, and The Visual Dictionary of Prehistoric Life will undoubtedly help young readers to see the vibrant life hidden behind the misty veils of history.

Citation:
The Visual Dictionary of Prehistoric Life. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. Print. ( )