Whose Dinosaur Bones Are Those? by Chihiro Takeuchi
Published by Candlewick Studio on May 9, 2023
Pages: 40
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

This is the simplest of STEM picture books. Author Takeuchi introduces the youngest of paleontologists to the dinosaur’s most basic makeup- their bones. With the repeating question, “whose dinosaur bones?”, the facing page has a smattering of bones. It is up to the reader to guess the type of dinosaur it is. The following facing pages answer the question with a complete skeleton, the name of each dinosaur and what it looked like if we saw it with skin. Illustrations done in cut paper are simple with no clutter or extras. Readers find “fun fact” pages in the end that can “fill out” even further what the dinosaur was like while alive. What makes this book different is its simplicity and the challenge of guessing what type of sauropod the author has drawn. It is an engaging way of introducing dinosaurs to early and pre-readers.

Reviewed by Kathy George, retired Gray Public Library