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The Greatest Dinosaur Ever

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The Greatest Dinosaur Ever
by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrated by Gennady Spirin
Henry Holt, 2013. Unpaged. Nonfiction

     One thing youngsters can mostly agree on:  there can never be too many dinosaur books. Brenda Guiberson and Gennady Spirin's latest is a case in point. From beginning to end, this richly illustrated text is a running argument among the dinosaurs themselves as to who is the greatest. Naturally Spinosaurus thinks he is the greatest because he was the longest carnivore; Tyrannosaurus Rex begs to differ, as does Therizinosaurus (THER-ih-ZIN-oh-SORE-us), who had "weird, gigantic arms and could cut down plants with [his] three-foot-long-claws." Troodon, Leaellynasaura (certainly the hardest to pronounce name among the dinosaurs) and Archaeopteryx make a case for themselves, as does Oviraptor, for being the best mother amongst the dinosaurs. In the end, the greatest dinosaur ever was . . . wait--you get to choose for yourself! Gennady Spirin's finely detailed and evocative pictures give Guiberson's text flesh--even if it is that lizardy, scaly stuff.  A fine addition to the dinosaur canon, which adults may like as much as their children.
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