Member Reviews

This was such a cute kid's book, the scenes created were clever and fun and my son got so many great ideas from reading it!

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Fun, informative, easy to follow! A must-have for parents with children, even if they aren't really that interested in dinosaurs.

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Tiny Dino Worlds by Christine Bayles Kortsch contains eleven chapters, filled with unique worlds to create, and a plethora of dino facts. Each chapter focuses on different dinos, fossil formations, time period, and habitat. There is a section in the beginning giving useful information on paleontology in general. There are gorgeous pictures all throughout. My cubs and I explored this book together. We all enjoyed, and have started gathering stuff to bring our own dino biomes to life. It's slow going since we can't really leave the house right now due to the pandemic. One day soon!!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Roost Books for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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This is a book of projects to do with your dinosaur-obsessed child. Buy a bunch of little plastic dinosaurs and then put them into their habitat using a bunch of ordinary craft techniques like salt dough and sand layering. The book's intended to be educational and is chock full of factoids about dinosaurs, the different periods when they lived, and the scientists who studied them. Some of the text needs a bit of editing – sentences with misplaced subjects, mostly – but it's not awful to read.

I think the book is a hoot and am vaguely thinking about trying some of the designs for my own fun, not having any children around to play with.

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Hands down the go-to for incorporating dinosaurs into crafting and activities. There is so much presented in this book for teachers, home school parents, museum instructors, and librarians working with elementary age kids...or adults who really love dinosaurs and making dioramas. I also appreciate the gratitude tree activity - it surprised me in the midst of the dino activities. Check this one out.

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Tiny Dino Worlds is a fun tutorial guide to crafting miniature habitats using plastic dinosaurs and other items along with containers and plants to create living dioramas. Due out 10th March 2020 from Roost Books, it's 224 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is such a FUN book. The tutorials are appealing and the instructions are well written and accessible for all ages. There are a number of alternate tips and instructions which can be done by any age kids to adults, but there are some (well labeled) which might require some grownup help to finish.

The introduction contains some good background information and colorful graphics with a short capsule treatment of the mesozoic era (ca. 252-66 million years ago). The language used is correct, but well defined and not overly rigorous or too technical. The intro also contains some really appealing infographics showing different dinosaur families and when they made an appearance (and exit) in Earth's distant past.

The tutorials themselves are really fun and appealing and the plant and rock selections are clever (tiny versions of plants similar to the ones found in the era). The authors have emphasized cost-effective tools and supplies (go for a tub or bucket of mini-dinosaur toys instead of specialized expensive collectible ones). The general instructions lead into the 20 (by my count) specific project tutorials (including a coprolite (dino poo) diorama which made me laugh out loud). Each of the tutorials contain step by step instructions, tools and supplies, suggested plants, etc. All of them are liberally and clearly photographed with working assembly photos. The book also includes some thematic party ideas as well as a solid cross-referenced index, links for further reading, bibliography, and an interview style Q&A with the author/contributors (from actual 4th graders).

This would make a really superlative classroom or library book, support activity tie-in to a nature science class, maker's group library, activity group, or family weekend activity. I really enjoyed this one a lot. I liked that the authors used science based language which was also accessible and in a manner which will appeal to kids.

Everyone loves dinosaurs, this is a fun book for all ages.

Five stars.

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First up thank you for this book!

Secondly, sadly I cannot finish it. HOWEVER this is by no means the fault of the book. It is just that the font is way too tiny for me to read on a computer screen without getting a headache and burning eyes.

I love the book, and I have put it on my list to buy, because I do want to make some fun tiny dino worlds for my home. There are tons of tips but also information on dinosaurs their history and more. I love the photographs and the how to do it for the worlds is easy and clear.

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What an awesome book. I’m so excited about ordering this book so I can make several of the projects with my great nephew. He’s a dinosaur nut!

The author gives a history of dinosaurs, and she groups them for use in her projects. She gives a brief history on the plants back in the dinosaur era, as well as a list of modern plants that are look alikes for making the terrariums. The book has beautiful pictures of the projects as well as kids making some of the projects. She has a section devoted to a question and answer session she had with some children as well as a section entitled Dinos in Detail.

Each chapter focuses on specific dinosaurs, the time period, and the eco system. Each project has a section on toy talk, materials and tools, tips, and plant picks and how to care for the plants when it’s a terrarium project. It’s nice that not all projects are terrariums. She has instructions for making Dragon Fly’s in amber, dino doo doo, baked dinosaur tracks, and designer dinos. Even though I didn’t have an opportunity to try one of the projects, her instructions seem quite clear, and I didn’t have any questions in my mind following along.

What I really loved about this book was her chapter, Party Time How to Throw a Dino-Tastic Gathering. It had several ideas for dinosaur crafts and a recipe for making a volcano ice cream cake. What fun for anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Christine Boyle’s Kortsch, and Roost Books for giving me the pleasure of reviewing this 5 star book.

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My grandchildren are so into dinosaurs, this book has lots of ideas and information on how to have fun and entertain them.

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Definitely going to add this to my collection of books for fun activities to do with my son! I love plants and terrariums. Been wanting to do a gnome terrarium, but then I saw dinosaurs and had to have it! A great collection of dinosaur facts, crafts and terrarium ideas. I will definitely have to do some of these soon.
#Netgalley

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I have made a few terrariums with my kids and they always love it. Tiny Dino Worlds takes terrariums and fairy gardens to a whole new level! This adorable book shows adults and children how to create a tiny world for toy dinosaurs.

There is a chapter about what plants to use, how to layer rocks and sand, and how to care for your dino world after completion. The book is very educational as it is full of information about dinosaurs. The full color pictures are amazing, the directions are clear, and the ideas are just, wow! I love the nontraditional underwater terrarium featuring a Plesiosaurus and water plants.

I am grateful to receive a free eBook in exchange for my opinion. But I will definitely be buying this book when it is released.

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What a fun and engaging way to learn about dinosaurs! This is a child friendly book crammed packed with facts about dinosaurs. There are maps, diagrams and good explanations about the periods of time. Along with each period of time or type of habitat, there is a small world to create. Each world has detailed instructions and photos with explanations about how to make your world. The worlds involve live plants meaning that they can become permanent decoration in your home. Each world also has a fun activity to do such as fossil making or volcano building. At the end there is even a dinosaur party! It is crammed full of fun things to do with the family. A great summer project to do!

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