Review: Ankylosaur Attack by Daniel Loxton

Ankylosaur Attack by Daniel Loxton. A Tales of Prehistoric Life Book.

Kids Can Press
Publication Date: September 2011
List Price: $16.95
ISBN-13: 9781554536313

Review: It was a morning long, long ago - millions of years before humans walked the Earth. As the first rays of sunlight shone through the trees, a young ankylosaur opened his eyes. He looked around. The cool morning air began to warm up. He turned his huge armored body to bask in the sun. So begins Daniel Loxton's book Tales of Prehistoric Life: Ankylosaur Attack. Ankylosaur Attack is the story of a young ankylosaur who meets an older ankylosaur who has been injured. Knowing that ankylosaurs prefer to be alone, he doesn't bother him. However, when a tyrannosaur appears on the scene, the young ankylosaur must think fast if he is to save the older ankylosaur and even himself!

Ankylosaur Attack is a beautifully illustrated book. The pictures pop off the page engrossing the reader into the adventures an ankylosaur experiences. The life-like portrayals of the animals strengthen the story considerably. However, it is not simply a book full of neat pictures. The story itself is both interesting and informative. Loxton weaves in facts about ankylosaurs in such a way that the reader learns about dinosaurs without feeling as if they are reading a nonfiction text. Plus, at the end of the story, Loxton includes a brief section in which both the ankylosaur and tyrannosaur are explained in a more traditional nonfiction format. Tales of Prehistoric Life: Ankylosaur Attack is a perfect book for any young dinosaur enthusiast because it is well-researched and has rich, vivid illustrations; plus it's a great story!

Review written by Margo Nauert (6th grade teacher).

We would like to thank Raab Associates for providing a copy of Ankylosaur Attack for this review.

Have you read Ankylosaur Attack? How would you rate it?