There are a lot of dinosaur books available and they are not all created equal. That’s No Dino! Or is it? By Helaine Becker and Marie-Ève Tremblay is a perfect dinosaur book for your younger readers. It’s colourful and FULL of amazing info all about dinosaurs that’s perfect for young readers.

Helaine Becker is one of our FAVOURITE children’s non-fiction writers. We always learn the most fascinating information in all of her non-fiction books so we were PUMPED to receive a copy of That’s No Dino! Or is it?. The Bear LOVES dinosaur books so he got the first read through of this book for his stamp of approval. He is 9 so I was very curious to see how he would react as he is a reader who has thoroughly read through all of the dinosaur encyclopedias out there so I consider him an expert. He LOVED this book. There were creatures in it that he had not yet heard of (yay!) And he really liked the checklists included with each creature to determine if the creature was in fact a dinosaur. He especially liked it when the list was super long only to have an “x” at the bottom to disqualify the animal! 

Each two page spread is dedicated to a prehistoric creature with an illustration. All features of the creature are clearly labeled and the description explains the main reason why they are not dinosaurs. As the reader goes through the book the checklist grows painting a complete picture of everything that is needed for the creature to qualify as a dinosaur. Page by page the reader gains more and more knowledge about a lot of prehistoric creatures and specifically dinosaurs.

The illustrations by Marie-Ève Tremblay are bold and colourful with a cartoony quality to them. If you have a reader that prefers more life like illustrations then they are out of luck. I think the illustrations are so appealing with their big eyes and large colourful bodies that really grab a hold of the reader. I do find some of the more lifelike illustrations in other dinosaur books can be a somewhat scary for little readers.

Helaine Becker includes website sources and other print sources she used when writing this book so readers can do further investigations if they choose. Since scientists are continuing to research and study prehistoric life, it’s always best to read and learn from the most updated resources.