Recommended Elementary School Titles

[Amado Narvaez <anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu>]

Here is a list of 10 books which, if they had been in my school library 
when I was in 6th grade, would have made me think I'd died and gone to 
heaven. In no particular order, and by no means exhaustive or definitive:
        1. Dinosaurs. John Bonnett Wexo. Creative Publications:Mankato, 
MN, 1989. This book is part of the Zoobooks series. It is probably not 
carried in most bookstores but can be purchased by schools (and I suppose 
private individuals) from the Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational 
Corporation, 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60604. Phone 
1-800-554-9862. Very nice illustrations by a variety of artists, 
including John Sibbick. Mark Hallett is the Senior Art Consultant. Has 
vivid illustrations to explain things like how some sauropod teeth could 
be used like rakes to pull leaves off branches; how the ligaments in the 
necks operated like a crane to pull the neck up; and how neither a meteor 
impact nor volcanic activity nor climate change ALONE might have killed 
off the dinosaurs, but how TOGETHER they could have. All with pictures 
and minimal text.
        2. Let's all draw dinosaurs, pterodactyls and other prehistoric 
creatures. Bruce Robertson. Text by Sue Pincus. Watson-Guptill:New York, 
1991. The best of the books on drawing dinosaurs, bar none. This was 
produced by the Diagram Group, who also did _The Dinosaur Data Book_.
        3. Dougal Dixons' Dinosaurs. Dougal Dixon. Morena 
Press:Honesdale, PA 1993. Received the Dinosaur Society's Sattler Award 
as the best dinosaur book for children.
        4. The news about dinosaurs. Patricia Lauber. Bradbury Press:New 
York, 1989. Although aimed at lower elementary school grades (it's more a 
picture book than a "non-fiction" book), it has between its covers some 
of the best illustrations by many of the outstanding dinosaur 
illustrators of the present.
        5. Digging up Tyrannosaurus rex. John R. Horner and Don Lessem. 
Crown:New York, 1992. Great photographs that show the excavation process.
        6. The search for Seismosaurus. J. Lynett Gillette. Paintings by 
Mark Hallett. Dial Books for Young Readers:New York, 1994. More great 
photographs that show the excavation process, this time of a sauropod.
        7. The ultimate dinosaur book. David Lambert. Dorling 
Kindersley:New York, 1993. Although technically worthy of a place on a 
high school library shelf, I think 6th graders would benefit from this 
book because of the number of skeleton recontructions provided and the 
attention to detail.
        8. The illustrated dinosaur encyclopedia. David Norman. Crescent 
Books:New York, 1985. This can sometimes be found on remainder shelves in 
book stores. As Horner and Lessem note in their bibliography, this is 
"challenging reading for children," but like book 7 above, it has 
skeleton reconstructions by the score and John Sibbick's beautiful paintings.
        9. The new illustrated dinosaur dictionary. Helen Roney Sattler. 
Lothrop, Lee & Shepherd:New York,1983,1990. Make sure you get the new one, 
not the "old" one. The new one (the better one) has illustrations by 
Joyce Powzyk. Nice because the entries go beyond the names of dinosaurs 
to include definitions like "GASTROLITHS" with cross references to 
"FOOD," "SAUROPOD," etc.
        10. The Dinosaur Society's Dinosaur Encyclopedia. Don Lessem and 
Donald F. Glut. Random House:New York,1993. A must for the reference 
shelf. Black and white illustrations by some of the top illustrators in 
the field. Pretty exhaustive as far as types of dinosaurs up to 1993. 
Would be nice if they published a paperback addendum every year or two.  

        All of these books are currently in print or available on 
remainder shelves. Some are available in paperback.

        I hope this list is some help. There are many more that could be 
mentioned, but any of these will whet anyone's appetite for more.

----- Amado Narvaez
      anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu