Top 4 children's natural histories of dinos

[HD-man]

This post[...which was originally posted at deviantART: https://www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/SD-Top-4-children-s-natural-histories-of-dinos-924726008 ]is the sequel to "Top 4 natural histories of dinos" ( https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=7132.0 ). It's nothing formal, just a list of what I (as a non-expert dino fan) think are the best children's NHDs & why. Even still, I hope that at least some of you will get something out of it.

Cheers,
Herman Diaz

4) Tie btwn Sattler's "Dinosaurs of North America" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3IRL42USNECN7/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ) & Wallace's "Familiar Dinosaurs" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2YZX033VMS8SY/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ): I can't decide which of these 2 books is better. They're both great for reasons that remind me of Stout's "The New Dinosaurs"/"The Dinosaurs: A Fantastic New View of a Lost Era":
-Like Stout's book, Sattler's is a 1981 book that extended its relevancy w/supplementary info. One could argue that said info + the larger & more consistently-good paleoart make it a better natural history for kids.
-Like Stout's book, Wallace's has a day-in-the-life format. One could argue that said format + the more colorful & naturalistic paleoart make it a better natural history for kids.

3) Lessem's "Dinosaur Worlds" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1SLNBX289TA4K/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ): My review sums up most of the reasons why this book is 1 of the best/most underrated children's NHDs. Put another way, to paraphrase Rowdy Roddy Piper ( https://www.pinterest.com/pin/819725569646534737/ ), this book "was [WWD] before [WWD] was cool." It's also worth mentioning that this book is backed by the Dinosaur Society ( http://web.archive.org/web/19980508204458/http://www.dinosociety.org/ ).

2) Howard's "Dinosaur Empire! (Earth Before Us #1): Journey through the Mesozoic Era" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R17ZWNPWDUKZWI/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ): I went back-&-forth on whether this book should be tied w/Lessem's (which is more in-depth). In the end, I decided that this book is slightly better for 2 main reasons: 1) This book is MUCH more up-to-date; 2) If Lessem's book is basically a better version of WWD, then this book is basically a better version of WWD + a better version of Cole's "The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs"; In reference to Cole's book, my review sums up why; In reference to WWD, the reviews of Dino Dad ( https://dinodadreviews.com/2019/02/25/dinosaur-empire-earth-before-us-1/ ) & Witton ( https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2019/12/interview-with-abby-howard-author-and.html ) sum up why.

1) Tie btwn Bakker's "The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2INIHTO7ANTSM/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ) & Chuang/Yang's "Age Of Dinosaurs" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1JA1ASNYXD7W6/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ): Before reading Chuang/Yang's book, Bakker's was the obvious #1 contender for reasons discussed in my review + the inclusion of Random House websites for supplementary info. However, I've since realized that the former does almost everything the latter does, but bigger & more beautiful. In fact, for reasons discussed in my review, Chuang/Yang's book is basically a more beautiful version of Bakker's + a more beautiful version of Stout's.

Honorable Mention) Gaffney's "Dinosaurs: A Fully Illustrated, Authoritative and Easy-to-Use Guide" (which I reviewed: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2JTBGQ68Z5STT/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ): Similarly to Norell's "The World of Dinosaurs: An Illustrated Tour", I do think that this book is 1 of the best children's NHDs, but I'm not sure where it should be listed relative to the other books. My review sums up why.