Feathered Dinosaurs of China

Rating:
Summary: BACK TO THE PAST, WITH FEATHERED DINOSAURS OF CHINA!
Review: Gregory Wenzel's yeoman outing as writer/illustrator, FEATHERED DINOSAURS OF CHINA, is nothing less than a spectacular time machine ride back to the early Cretaceous to spend the day with an extraordinary assemblage of extinct animals. Smartly written for younger readers (but still enjoyable and informative for adults), this book features 16 stunning full-color scenes (including the cover) and 14 alternating color spot illustrations, plus a map showing the location of Liaoning Province in China where the fossilized remains of these animals originated.

2004 marked ten years since the astounding announcement of the discovery of a dinosaur with feathers came out of China. In all that time, only four childrens books on the subject were published (this being one of them), and none of the other three dealt with the incredibly rich Liaoning fauna in any real detail. Fortunately, it's fallen to someone of Wenzel's proven abilities to take on that task, and FEATHERED DINOSAURS OF CHINA stands out as a singular accomplishment in that regard. The book's storyline and visuals have an engaging nature documentary feel to them. Wenzel's informative, accessible storytelling style harkens back to the classic Jane Werner Watson/Rudolph Zallinger collaboration THE GIANT GOLDEN BOOK OF DINOSAURS AND OTHER PREHISTORIC REPTILES from 1960.

FEATHERED DINOSAURS OF CHINA begins with a short primer on the discovery of these exceptional fossils, including the first dinosaur with a non-scaly integument. Then quickly it's off to the past, journeying back 124 million years to see and experience the living animals in their environment, their interaction with one another and their cohabitants along a prehistoric lakeshore. In a spritely, reader-friendly narration, Wenzel introduces select members of the cast of dinosaurs and other Yixian Formation denizens, bouncing from one animal to another as their paths cross during the course of a single day. Refreshingly, he tempers his depiction of dinosaur behavior, going for realism rather than the more-typical over-the-top excess that's become the norm when discussing how dinosaurs lived and interacted. In the wrap-up, we get some perspective on the relationship of the book's titular subject and modern birds.

Wenzel's strength as an illustrator lies in his brilliant sense of composition. Eschewing the need to render every scale or feather on an animal in anally-photographic detail, he instead chooses (wisely) to expend his energies in the creation of stunningly realistic scenes, some of them rife with dramatic tension, others depicting quieter but equally-realistic moments. In his lush paintings, you can feel the heat of the day, hear the rustle of leaves in the forest, bask in the warm glow of sunset. These are not the ravening prehistoric monsters that are sadly still all-too-prevalent in the literature, but exotic, unique animals that play out their lives' simple dramas right there on the page before your eyes.

At a time when dinosaur books for children are a-dime-a-dozen and the greater majority of them aren't worth the paper they're printed on as far as accuracy in either text or illustration, FEATHERED DINOSAURS OF CHINA is that rare gem that succeeds brilliantly at both. Of course, Wenzel's life-long interest in natural history in general and dinosaurs in particular, and the fact that he's done actual hands-on paleontology with The Judith River Dinosaur Institute in Montana, may have something to do with that.

Real-world time machines don't exist just yet. The next best thing is this wonderful book. Same advice as last time: Buy two copies. Give one to an appreciative child and keep the other for yourself.