Today’s review covers a fun picture book called Weirdosaurus. (note that the punctuation is included in the title). Written and illustrated by Philip Bunting, this book is a catalogue of “Prehistory’s most peculiar creatures” (as stated by the subtitle, although really it is limited to just the Mesozoic, and so we don’t get any Cambrian weirdos or anything like that).
Divided into three sections representing the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods, Weirdosaurus features a mostly reptilian cast, though a few amphibians and proto-mammals appear in the Triassic section.
The introduction makes an important point about how we can’t be 100% sure on the life appearance of prehistoric creatures, though I worry it perhaps emphasizes this point a little TOO strongly, potentially implying that everything we know is just guesswork. This might just be my own impression, however; perhaps it won’t come across quite that way to others.
Each animal is presented with an illustration, some basic statistics, and a short desccription. This book serves as just an introduction to the animals featured; there’s not a whole lot of detail in the descriptions, but there’s enough to get by. Bunting does make sure to include plenty of jokes and puns about each animal, though, which adds a light-hearted tone to compliment the art style.
Speaking of which, while cartoonish, the art style is generally pretty accurate, and clearly represents the animals depicted, with a few exceptions. I thought the Carnotaurus and Dilophosaurus both had kind of wonky heads, and Microraptor is depicted as multi-colored rather than all black as known from fossils. Epidexipteryx is also shown with its outdated “Aye-aye“-fingered appearance, rather than with the bat-like wings possessed by close relatives such as Ambopteryx, which appears just a few pages later.
I made sure to point out the inaccuracies I noted because I actually rather like this book, and I wanted to be clear about the few issues I had with it. Overall, Weirdosaurus is a fun look at some true oddballs of the Mesozoic, many of which the average reader has probably never heard of before. I appreciate this aspect of the book in particular, and I give it my Dino Dad Stomp of Approval as a result. Be sure to check it out if you get the chance!
