Tracey Turner is rather a prolific children’s author. Her new offering, The Comic Strip Book of Dinosaurs, joins several other illustrated books in Bloomsbury’s ‘Comic Strip’ series. In her new book, Turner aims to present ‘the world of dinosaurs as it’s never been seen before’.

The book itself is incredibly informative, presenting a wealth of information pertaining to everything about evolution and dinosaurs themselves in a manageable and rather fun way. The ‘Dinosaur Timeline’ at the outset of the book outlines the different periods – Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous – in which dinosaurs roamed the earth. The book then goes back in time to ‘Before the Dinosaurs’, where the conditions which allowed the creatures to come about are described in detail.

There is a section where Charles Darwin explains the evolutionary process, and another which explains how fossils are made. We learn how dinosaurs were named and how different species evolved over time, as well as the length and weights of many featured dinosaurs – including the Brachiosaurus which weighed ‘at least as much as 8 elephants’ and the ‘whopping’ Seismosaurus, which was 40 metres long. There is a section on other creatures which existed during the prehistoric period, from Plesiosaurs to mammals such as the Fruitafossor, as well as the theories of why extinction came about.

Sally Kindberg’s lovely illustrations grace each page, and the text and pictures have been very well paired together. Each dinosaur has a small speech bubble next to its illustration which either asks questions or provides factual information.

It is clear that The Comic Strip Book of Dinosaurs has been extensively researched, and the chronological layout makes the timeline of the dinosaurs incredibly easy to follow. It is quite scientific at times, but not in a confusing way, and even the youngest of children will benefit from the information woven throughout the book.

Whilst targeted primarily at children, The Comic Strip Book of Dinosaurs is an incredibly fun and rather nostalgic read for adults. Rather than giving the reader an information overload, the facts have been presented in an incredibly manageable way. The wonderful comic strip book can be read all in one go or dipped into every now and again. It is sure to be a firm favourite with children (and adults!) for years to come.

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