Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds (The Dinosaur Library)

Reviewed with Thom Holmes' Armored, Plated, and Bone-Headed Dinosaurs. Gr. 6-10. Armored tails and razor-sharp spikes make the armored dinosaurs some of the most recognizable of the species. Less familiar, but equally interesting, are feathered dinosaurs. These two volumes in the Dinosaur Library series use archeological findings as well as scientific theory to provide a great deal of information about these creatures. In Feathered Dinosaurs, the authors review the scientific data and physical findings that have led scientists to believe that dinosaurs are the progenitors of birds. In Armored Dinosaurs, they discuss the adaptation of such defensive mechanisms as horns, scales, and armor. Each volume places the species within a time period and a habitat, offering hypotheses when hard facts aren't available.