PREHISTORIC ACTUAL SIZE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jenkins, Steve. 2005. PREHISTORIC ACTUAL SIZE. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618535780.

PLOT SUMMARY
Jenkins introduces young readers to various prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs, mammals, insects and other groups that range from smallest to largest. He profiles primary characteristics of these primitive creatures such actual size, shape and how long ago they lived. Jenkins begins with the tiniest animal that ever appeared on Earth, the protozoan and describes one of the largest dinosaurs, the Giganotosaurus. This educational and informative book will help children with the concepts of measurement and will keep their interest as they flip through the pages.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In Prehistoric Actual Size, readers will get a chance to see how ancient creatures may have looked like at actual size. Jenkins uses life-sized illustrations of cut and torn paper collages accompanied by text underneath the image revealing the size of each creature. Children will be amazed at the size of a thirty-three foot Baryonyx, a fish-eating dinosaur, which shows just a mere claw. They will be in awe of a spiny shark that was only a mere three inches long. The head of a flying reptile known as the Dsungaripterus takes up four pages in the book. A tiny protozoan, nearly invisible to the naked eye, stands beside a sea scorpion which lived 420 million years ago. Kids can imagine these prehistoric animals walking, running, flying and stalking their prey. The last few pages are dedicated to showing more detailed information of these prehistoric creatures. Teachers, parents and children will find this book informative and educational when studying measurement as well as a fun and interesting read.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Starred Review in Booklist: “Children fascinated by Jenkins’ vibrant cut-paper artwork in Actual Size (2004) won’t want to miss the oversize album of prehistoric creatures that range from tiny to enormous.

Review in School Library Journal: “The exciting artistic presentation that worked so well in Acutual Size (Houghton, 2004) is equally successful when applied to prehistoric creatures. Progressing chronologically from a dot-sized protozoan of 550 million years ago Jenkins has chosen the animals and the portions of them to depict to great effect.”

CONNECTIONS
Introduce students to concept of measurement in mathematics
Study prehistoric animals in science

Other books about measurement:
Hightower, Susan. Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement. ISBN 0689804520
Hoban, Tana. Is It Larger? Is It Smaller. ISBN 0688152872
Jenkings, Steve. Actual Size. ISBN 0618375945
Leedy, Loreen. Measuring Penny. ISBN 0805065725
Myller, Rolf. How Big is a Foot? ISBN 0440404959