Dino Pets

This book does not do a good job of fostering development of science processes. The only one it really uses is observation because it has a lot of pictures. The students can look at the pictures and describe them. The content presented does not offer a lot of opportunity to infer, predict, question, or classify because there is very little scientific information included.

Author: Lynn Plourde
Illustrator: Gideon Kendall
Year Published: 2007
ISBN: 9780142413029

Science Topics

Minimum Suggested Grade Level

Prekindergarten

Maximum Suggested Grade Level

2nd Grade

Summary

A boy brings home various dinosaurs from the pet store, but discovers that neither the biggest nor the smallest, the softest nor the scariest, makes an ideal pet. Includes facts about dinosaurs.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: Medium
Authority: Medium
Accuracy: Low
Liteary Artistry: Medium
Appearance: Medium

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

This book provides very little detail and information on the history of dinosaurs. If children were to have a question about the dinosaur, it is most likely that the answer would not be found in this book. The children may ask what type of dinosaur is illustrated but that information is not given until the end of the book and has very little information about the dinosaur.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

This book may encourage children to think for themselves because the children may be very imaginative. The problem is that this is not a realistic story being dinosaurs cannot be pets. There is no solid information that allows children to wonder or ponder about something so no thinking is encouraged by reading this book.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

If a teacher were to use this book to teach or incorporate into a lesson, I think he or she would find it hard to relate it to what needs to be taught. There is minimal scientific content addressed, which would make it hard to align with the TEKS or goals and objectives of the lesson. There is not enough information in this book to use as a valid resource in a lesson.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

The content in this book does not have a lot of scientific principles presented. The information is misleading because children may think dinosaurs are not extinct and there is a possibility of having one as a pet. The foundation of content in this book does not seem to be science. There is not enough scientific content to determine whether it is based on sound scientific principles.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

This book can be very confusing to a child that is reading it. When reading this book, it is not clear to students what is fact and what is fiction. Students may believe that it is all fiction when actually the book does present fact. The dinosaurs drawn are dinosaurs that were once living, but that is not clearly known or discoverable. There are also no actual facts stated while reading through the pages.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

The illustrations are lovely. They are colorful, detailed, lively and creative. Some illustrations are somewhat accurate being they represent actual dinosaurs but these dinosaurs are very animated which is not so accurate. Dinosaurs did not wear sneakers and were not as approachable as these illustrations depict them to be.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

This book would be appropriate for younger grades. It is a fun, carefree book that younger children would enjoy. When reading it though, I do not think the younger students would associate any of it with science, but rather just a simple story to read. This is not a book I would recommend to teach science to any grade level, especially older grade levels, because it is too simplistic and minimal of information.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

This book is free from stereotyping. There is no multicultural component except I observed that there is more than one race illustrated in some of the pictures. It does not talk about the characters as people in the book, but only the story of having dinosaurs as pets. Since the book focuses on the story, it allows children to not create stereotypes.

Is the book free from gender bias?

This book offers no suggestion of gender bias or implies any reason for gender bias. Although if I were to be more selective, females are rarely shown in this book. For a student that already has an idea that only boys can like dinosaurs, this book may justify that thought more.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

This book does not present an opportunity for teachers to create some associate between science and other disciplines. The processes of science are barely used, which makes it difficult to incorporate other disciplines. There is barely any factual information, which makes it hard to integrate the science with anything else.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

This book has no negative attitude but it does not focus a lot on the science aspect or any technology. If anything, it may give false hope to students and create some confusion about the science of dinosaurs. It is a carefree, fun book, which does present a positive attitude, just not so specific to science and definitely not to technology.