Popular Science Children's Review - Dangerous Dinosaurs Jigsaw Book

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Review - Dangerous Dinosaurs Jigsaw Book - Nick Arnold

There are two ways of looking at this book. It's either a cynical attempt to squeeze yet more money out of the Horrible Science/History line, which has already spawned CDs, magazines and more, or it's an absolutely brilliant way to get some facts about dinosaurs across to a slightly younger age group that the one normally addressed by the Horrible Science books.

While part of me is tempted by the former explanation, the fact is it's too much fun not to go for the latter. Even if this was intended as a way of exploiting the brand, it's excellent. There are six 48-piece jigsaw puzzles, each with an opposite facing page full of facts referring to the puzzle. When you get the puzzle pieces out, there's more stuff in the supporting board that the puzzle sits on, including a puzzle question, which of course you have to reassemble the puzzle to answer. There's also a running spot-the-cockroach challenge that carries on throughout the book, requiring in-depth studying of Tony de Saulles' excellent and very busy illustrations.

If I was going to pick nits, the text seems aimed at a slightly older age group than the puzzles - you could argue that this expands the appeal of the book to a wider age range, but the fact is, come 10 or 11, no one will want to be seen dead with a chunky jigsaw puzzle (unless off sick, and hidden from friends), so it probably won't work. But that is definitely nit-picking (definitely not cockroach counting) and doesn't get in the way of this being an excellent gift book and one that will go down well with teachers, parents and children.

Reviewed by Jo Reed

* Our age range recommendation is an estimated guide, but individual readers outside the range could still enjoy the book!

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