RECOMMENDED BOOKS ABOUT DINOSAURS

Books for Younger Readers

Bakker, Robert T. Random House, 2013. The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs. A modern update of a classic 20th-century dinosaur book for children.

Brett-Surman, M.K. Weldon Owens, Random House, 2009. Children’s Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Covers 142 species of dinosaurs in detail.

Brusatte, Steve. Book Sales, Inc., 2009. Field Guide to Dinosaurs. An excellent review of dinosaurs.

Halls, Kelly Milner. John Wiley & Sons, 1995. Dino-Trekking. Where to find dinosaurs anywhere on display in North America. Lists all museums and expositions with their addresses, hours of operation, and names of dinosaurs on display.

Holtz, T. R., Jr. Capstone Press, 2015. Digging for Brachiosaurus. Digging for Stegosaurus. Digging for Triceratops. Digging for Tyrannosaurus rex. Four-volume set about our changing knowledge of four “classic” dinosaur species.

Holtz, T. R., Jr. Random House, 2007. Dinosaurs: The Most Complete Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages. What it says in the title!

Holtz, T. R., Jr. Sterling Publishing, 2001. The Little Giant Book of Dinosaurs. An examination of dinosaur history and evolution. One of the first books on dinosaur cladistics for kids!

Marshall, C. (editor). Marshall Cavendish Press, 1999. Dinosaurs of the World, Volumes 1–11. Contains two- and four-page spreads about dinosaurs, the animals and plants of their world, and principles of evolution, extinction, and fossilization.

Walters, Bob, and Tess Kissinger. Applesauce Press, 2014. Discovering Dinosaurs. A book on dinosaurs by the artists who illustrated this book!

Woodward, John. Dorling Kindersley Press, 2014. Dinosaur! Dinosaurs and other amazing prehistoric creatures as you’ve never seen them before. This “coffee table book” is for the whole family with its lavish artwork and pictures. A joint DK Press and Smithsonian collaboration.

Books for Teachers and Parents

Benton, Michael J., Blackwell Publishing, 2014. Vertebrate Palaeontology, 4th edition. This is the crown jewel of books on the evolution of all vertebrates.

Brett-Surman, Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. and M., James O. Farlow (editors). Indiana University Press, 2012. The Complete Dinosaur, 2nd edition. This is the best undergraduate book for college students, whether they are non-science majors or pre-paleontologists.

Brusatte, S. L., Wiley-Blackwell., 2012. Dinosaur Paleobiology. An excellent medium-length textbook for the serious student of dinosaurs, written by a leading researcher.

Glut, D. F. McFarland & Company, 1997. Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia. A massive volume with a photograph or illustration of the original specimen of every dinosaur species, as well as text description of its discovery. A series of supplements updates this book on a regular basis.

Indiana University Press, iupress.indiana.edu. The Life of the Past series is the best series of books about paleontology.

Lanzendorf, J. (creator). Academic Press, 2000. Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art (The Lanzendorf Collection). Images from the world’s largest private collection of dinosaur art, with explanations by leading dinosaur scientists and artists. See Mike Brett-Surman’s contribution on pp. 40–42, and Tom Holtz’s on pp. 54–56.

Paul, G. S. (editor). St. Martin’s Press, 2000. The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs: The Best Minds in Paleontology Create a Portrait of the Prehistoric Era. A collection of classic papers from Scientific American as well as brand-new chapters discussing the origin, evolution, history, and extinction of dinosaurs. Written to give the interested public the latest information on the cutting edge of dinosaur research.

Weishampel, D. B., P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska (editors). University of California Press, 2004. The Dinosauria, 2nd edition. Written by and for paleontologists, this book contains chapters on the anatomy and biology of all the major groups of dinosaurs.