I liked the way the book was designed because at the beginning the author described how and why he builds dinosaurs, and at the end there are step-by-step instructions on how to build your own dinosaurs. I liked the topic because I’ve liked dinosaurs since I was about two.I thought building the dinosaur was fun because it was easy at parts and challenging at others. For example, putting the plaster on the toes was a bit challenging. I had the most fun when I had to do the wire assembly. The project instructions were not complete though which made it hard to follow; even for my mom.
     If I could change something about the book, I would change the part where the author does not explain what to do with the middle of the dinosaur (put cotton or mattress foam in it). I liked the pictures of already-made dinosaurs best because of the fact that you could have one later on. I also really liked the pictures of the kids making the dinosaurs and especially the kids holding their finished dinosaurs in front of their painted environment. What I liked the least was when the author writes about his history in making dinosaurs.
     My overall impression of this book is that it is very cool because you get to build your own dinosaur. I score it nine and not ten because the book doesn’t explain some parts and not eight because this is a good book. If I had to describe the book in just one word, it would be “builderific”!

(Originally published in the Fall 2000 issue of YES Mag.)