Review by Booklist Review
The creator of Paleo Sharks (2007) offers a similarly eye-widening gallery of extinct arthropods, from the mayfly-like heptagenia to a seven-foot-long arthropleura. While properly noting that fossil records provide few clues about coloration and fine details, Bradley decks out each of his painted figures in bright hues, poses them in natural settings usually crawling or swimming directly toward the viewer and sets them aside a human hand or body in silhouette to suggest scale. The accompanying descriptions tend to sound alike, but Bradley systematically includes scientific names for each creature, as well as information that is as precise as current knowledge allows. It would have been better had less of the text been printed on dark brown backgrounds, but readers will still pore over the pictures and come away knowing more about both these extinct animals and their modern descendants.--Peters, John Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Bradley explores the world of Paleozoic arthropods, including ancestors of cockroaches, dragonflies, and other insects. Sidebars next to paintings of what the arthropods might have looked like show their size relative to a human child and point out the relationship between the prehistoric animal and its contemporary descendants. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) Bradley follows his fascinating Paleo Sharks (rev. 7/07) with a look at arthropods existing on earth 530 to 40 million years ago, tracing the evolution of these precursors to today's insects, spiders, and centipedes. Using a crisp graphic format and a handsome color palette, each two-page spread follows a well-designed template: a central illustration features a dramatic portrayal of several creatures (often battling one another); to-scale silhouettes of the animals and a human child are provided for comparison; and factual information about where fossils have been found, the creatures' distinctive characteristics, and present-day relatives are included. The bug-human comparisons are particularly effective -- it is a bit unnerving to learn that some ancient myriapods and insects were nearly as big as human children. Additional information about modern arthropods, a bibliography, a glossary, and further reading are appended.From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Long before the age of dinosaurs, the first arthropods appeared, over 500 million years ago. This attractive and informative guide introduces a variety of these early animals, explaining that some disappeared, some survived nearly unchanged and others evolved into the insects, scorpions, crabs and lobsters we know today. A timeline and helpful description of arthropod characteristics provide a brief introduction. Making clear that scientific understanding in this area is continually developing, Bradley summarizes current thinking about 14 different species of Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic arthropods, introducing them chronologically, one or two at a time on colorful double-page spreads, and providing clear, careful drawings of the creatures on a background appropriate to their environment. Sidebars connect the fossil species to modern ones, and show sizes in comparison to silhouettes of a modern-day "explorer"--a child with a magnifying glass or just a hand. Elegantly designed and thoughtfully written, this is a worthy companion to the author's Paleo Sharks (2007) and an intriguing step backwards in time for dinosaur fans. (glossary, reading suggestions, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
