The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers

Dr. Adam Smith & Jonathan Emmett are back at it with another children’s book on prehistoric life! Their debut book, The Plesiosaur’s Neck, of course had to feature everybody’s favorite long-necked sea creatures, seeing as they are Dr. Smith’s specialty in the paleontology world. Their second book, however, shoots for an even bigger mega-star of fossil fame, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, itself!

The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers takes a look at how our scientific understanding of the king of the dinosaurs has changed over time. The illustrator this time around by Stieven Van der Poorten, who first captured my attention with his delightful “slices” of famous paleo-environments, which are a neat way to get a quick understanding of these locales. His knack for immediately understandable illustrations that handily condense a general theme comes in very handy here, particularly with his brilliant cover illustration that succinctly conveys the subject of the book.

As for said subject, the book presents it to us via a talking Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor pair, with the latter critiquing & correcting his partners initial “retro” appearance. While the primary text features the dino duo’s conversation, sidebars on each page give extra information and context to each of the changes that occur from page to page. The dynamic between the two somewhat recalls that of the paleontologist and her dinosaur friends in Dinosaurs Can’t Roar!, though I would say the target audience is probably closer to that of the similarly-themed Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! (For rather more in-depth information on the history of paleontology, I recommend Fossils From Lost Worlds & Tales of the Prehistoric World.)

While the Velociraptor controls the narrative throughout most of the book, the king eventually reclaims his place in the hierarchy towards the end, and returns the favor to his equally retro-presenting cousin!

The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers is a fun look at how our perceptions of dinosaurs has shifted with new discoveries, and I think it might be my favorite in that particular niche of dinosaur books so far. I’m pleased to give it my Dino Dad Stomp of Approval, and if it has you hungry for more of Dr. Smith’s work, not only do I recommend his previous book, The Plesiosaur’s Neck, but I also suggest you check out the websites he runs. The Plesiosaur Directory & The Dino Toy Blog are both fun to check out, and the latter was itself an inspiration for my own blog, so you know I think highly of it!