There was a time when few knew what dinosaurs looked like. This is the story of how Waterhouse Hawkins built the first life-sized dinosaur models and stunned the world with his awe-inspiring creations.
"This true story is about Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins' life. The story takes place in three different ages. The first age, London, shows how Waterhouse grew up drawing, painting and sculpting models of animals. He became fascinated with dinosaurs and wanted to make models of them. This is a big deal because even though fossils had been found years before, nobody really knew what dinosaurs looked like with muscles and skin. With some help from a scientist, Richard Owen, Waterhouse made life-size models of a number of dinosaurs. His models were displayed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Park so all people could see what dinnosaurs really looked like. In the second stage, waterhouse goes to America where he built the first model of a complete dinosaur skeleton. Plans were made to build a Paleozoic museum where he would house his new life-size models. A corrupt politician, Boss Tweed, thought this was a waste of money and stopped the project. After Waterhouse spoke out against Tweed, one night all of his dinosaurs were smashed to pieces and dumped in Central Park, where they still are today. Waterhous Hawkins was sad, but not defeated. He stayed in America and continued his work. The story ends in the third stage, home again in London. In his later years, new evidence showed that many of his dinosaurs he made were not completely accurate, but that didn't take away from the fact that Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins' models are what truly got people interested in the study of dinosaurs to begin with.
This picture book has a richness about it. From the thick, glossy pages to the romantic realism in the illustrations, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins is very inviting. While filled to the brim with scientific and historic information, Barbara Kerley's writing is not dull, but an exciting adventure. Brian Selznick's paintings come to life, filling every inch of each oversized page. The only page that lacks color and warmth is the one with a small portrait Boss Tweed, who almost looks like a zombie. As a reader you know, just by looking at the picture and the fact that there is no other illustration on this page, that this is a bad man. The mood changes after this page, and the colors become dark and foreboding. Only when the color becomes bright again, do we know that Waterhouse has let go of the past and is ready to move on. Grades 4-8."
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(NS) (4 out of 5 stars)