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Let’s Draw Dinosaurs, Pterodactyls and Other Prehistoric Creatures Simon
& Schuster Young Books, pp 141, £4.99

All primary school children know that teachers can do everything. But
for those of us who can’t Let’s Draw Dinosaurs is a godsend. ‘Come dinosaur
hunting!’ say the authors. ‘Meet lots of amazing prehistoric giants . .
. then discover how to bring them to life as if by magic.’

‘The dinosaur story’, in Part 1, puts dinosaurs into an historical context.
It informs the reader of where and when dinosaurs lived and of what they
looked like. It is brief and simple, dealing with basic, generic facts.
More detailed information on specific dinosaurs follows in later chapters.

What sort of paper is best to draw on? How can you use pencils, chalks,
crayons and paints to achieve different effects? What about drawing with
ink? The answers to these and many other questions to do with ‘Getting ready
to draw’ are found in Part 2.

The book clearly sets out information on good places to draw, suitable
tools and media, special effects and textures, each on a separate double-page
spread. Enlarging drawings, copying and tracing methods and techniques are
simply and sensibly explained, and there are diagrams and ‘handy hints’
along the way.

‘Drawing dinosaurs is easy’ claims the book in Part 3. To my astonishment,
it really is, using the step-by-step stages. Start with a few circles and
gradually add ovals and lines, and in no time at all even I had built up
a picture. It really was ‘as simple as that’. With success behind me, I
was encouraged to tackle silhouettes, skeletons, moving dinosaurs, and even
angles and perspective.

The final part of this action-packed book, and perhaps the most exciting,
is the ‘Dinosaur gallery’. Here, the reader is presented with more than
30 dinosaurs to look at and copy. And they are not just the old familiar
favourites.

Each dinosaur or prehistoric creature is accompanied by a short description
about its appearance, size or fossil location. And there are plenty of novel
ideas about drawing creatures grouped together, or showing them fighting
or grazing. Once again the book contains lots of expert hints, with special
tips to make the drawing as easy as can be. There’s even a subsection on
creating and naming your own dinosaurs.

Let’s Draw Dinosaurs, Pterodactyls and Other Prehistoric Creatures is
for adults and children alike. The authors seem to have thought of everything.
All the dinosaurs’ names have easy-to-read transliterations and are written
in bold for quick reference. The page numbers are large, which will help
children find their way easily to a drawing. The instructions are friendly
and encouraging, and the ideas really are manageable.

The book is certainly user-friendly, and at less than £5 I would
say it’s a must for every primary school library and staff room bookshelf.

Alison Goodman teaches first-year juniors at Thornhill School, Islington.