Identify this book please!

[Metallisuchus]

I had a book when I was really young, maybe 6 years old, so it was around 1988. It had a hard cover and each chapter followed a different dinosaur of a different genus and his/her journeys. I remember there was a Dilophosaurus who was hit in the thigh by a chunk of lava, and I think there was an Ankylosaurus eating flowers for the first time or something.

The dinosaurs weren't personified or anything - it was actually supposed to be educational, but for young kids.

Can anybody recall what this book is called?

[Gwangi]

I recall a similar book called "Dinosaurs of the Land, Sea and Air". Perhaps that is what you're thinking of?

[Metallisuchus]

Nah I don't think that's it, because I don't recognize the cover. The artwork in the book I'm thinking of was pretty good for the time as well. Thanks though. This is driving me nuts.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That's a collection of the stories your talking about above...they were reprinted as 4 collections I believe.  The original set was by Rourke Publishing..I have several of the individual copies and most of them in the collections like the one shown above.  The art varies from extremely well done to simple paintings.

Here's the individual book on amazon for Dilo :

[Metallisuchus]

Blade, are you sure? Because that photo doesn't ring a bell. I'll know when I see the exact cover of the book I had, but it's very hard to say with just the Dilophosaurus one you posted. I Google'd it (Rourke publishing dinosaur book) and came up with nothing recognizable.

[Gwangi]

I had another book like the one I posted with a different cover so I wouldn't dismiss it on that alone. I cannot think of any other collection of dinosaur stories from the late 80's like you describe. If you visit the "Love in the time of Chasmosaurus" blog and look through the vintage dinosaur art posts you'll find some of those stories. Here is the one for Iguanodon which was in the book I mentioned. I also found one for Allosaurus.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Blade, are you sure? Because that photo doesn't ring a bell. I'll know when I see the exact cover of the book I had, but it's very hard to say with just the Dilophosaurus one you posted. I Google'd it (Rourke publishing dinosaur book) and came up with nothing recognizable.

Pretty sure.  In the Dilophosaurus story he finds a female plesiosaur that has come up the beach to lay her eggs, he fights and kills her and begins to eat then a pair of male and female Dilos come and steal his kill...all this while there is a smoking volcano in that background that is smoking more and more....until finally it blows. Our hero Dilo is making his way back up the hillside when a chunk of rock from the volcano hits him in thigh..he lands on the ground and can't move well.  The volcano blows even bigger causing a small tidal wave that smashes into the beach where he was before. In the morning , sore he staggers to his feet and the beach has been swept clean, no kill, and no rivals.

The Ankylosaurus story .

Follows  the day long adventures of an Ankylosaur who while feeding slides down an embankment to the lower lands and has to eat, show off his defensive abilities and slowly make his way back up the hill side that is his home.

If your one book had multiple stories in it then it's likely a re-issue volume , they were hard backs with different covers and different stories. 

Unless you are confusing these stories with another cover or artwork maybe ?  Will Stout's book on Dinos had a lot of good art and different stories in it.

[Metallisuchus]

Hmm... That Ankylosaurus (Euoplocephalus, really) looks extremely familiar... Maybe...

And Gwangi, you're right - I should consider the fact that books often get re-printed with different covers, etc.

Ah! I think this may be it (if it's not, then I KNOW I at least had this book as well...)! Now I just have to find images of what's inside this book...

https://www.boocoo.com/auction/detail.asp?n=dinosaurs-prehistoric-creatures-book-hard-bound&id=85744

Either way, thank you both.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Hmm... That Ankylosaurus (Euoplocephalus, really) looks extremely familiar... Maybe...

And Gwangi, you're right - I should consider the fact that books often get re-printed with different covers, etc.

Ah! I think this may be it (if it's not, then I KNOW I at least had this book as well...)! Now I just have to find images of what's inside this book...

https://www.boocoo.com/auction/detail.asp?n=dinosaurs-prehistoric-creatures-book-hard-bound&id=85744

Either way, thank you both.

That's in the same series of collected books by Rourke like the one Gwangi posted.  I have all four (  I think ) of those collected works books..I can tell you what's in each tomorrow if interested.

[Gwangi]

Hmm... That Ankylosaurus (Euoplocephalus, really) looks extremely familiar... Maybe...

And Gwangi, you're right - I should consider the fact that books often get re-printed with different covers, etc.

Ah! I think this may be it (if it's not, then I KNOW I at least had this book as well...)! Now I just have to find images of what's inside this book...

https://www.boocoo.com/auction/detail.asp?n=dinosaurs-prehistoric-creatures-book-hard-bound&id=85744

Either way, thank you both.

That's in the same series of collected books by Rourke like the one Gwangi posted.  I have all four (  I think ) of those collected works books..I can tell you what's in each tomorrow if interested.

I recognize that one too, that must be the other one I had. So many memories...

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Okay, I checked my shelves and I have 3 of the four books.  I'm missing the Mammoth Book of Dinosaurs collection :

Here's a pic showing all four covers of the first release :

There is also a 2nd release with cover pics actually from the books themselves :

Colossal :http://www.amazon.com/Colossal-Book-Dinosaurs-Modern-Publishing/dp/1561447757/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2
Mammoth :http://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Book-Dinosaurs-Modern-Publishing/dp/1561447765/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2
Land , sea and air :http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Land-Prehistoric-Creatures-Dino/dp/1561447749/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1
Prehistoric Creatures : http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Prehistoric-Creatures-Dino-Land/dp/1561447730/ref=wl_mb_hu_m_3_dp

If you want a list of which stories are in the books I have let me know and I'll list them.

[Metallisuchus]

I'll have to get a hold of that Triceratops one for sure, and hopefully, it'll be exactly what I remembered. I don't think my book just featured 4 dinosaurs though, I think it was pretty thick and featured a lot more.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I'll have to get a hold of that Triceratops one for sure, and hopefully, it'll be exactly what I remembered. I don't think my book just featured 4 dinosaurs though, I think it was pretty thick and featured a lot more.

Um, who said they had only 4 stories ? Maybe something was confused.  The Triceratops cover book has these in it :

Ankylosaurus
Brachiosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dimetrodon
Diplodocus
Plesiosaurus
Protoceratops
Pteranodon
Stegosaurus
Tyrannosaurus

[Metallisuchus]

"That's a collection of the stories your talking about above...they were reprinted as 4 collections I believe"

--- I must've mis-read what you said, and when you posted the "Dilophosaurus" book, I thought it was 1 of 4. Sorry about that.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

"That's a collection of the stories your talking about above...they were reprinted as 4 collections I believe"

--- I must've mis-read what you said, and when you posted the "Dilophosaurus" book, I thought it was 1 of 4. Sorry about that.

Yeah that must have been it, no worries.

It was 4 collections, each one has quite a few stories in them. The Dilophosaurus book is from the orig set, it has 29 volumes or so in it.

[Metallisuchus]

Thanks though. Now it's just a matter of getting a good copy.