Wikijunior:Dinosaurs/Introduction

Bone replica of the mighty Triceratops

Introduction

Wikijunior books welcomes you to the Wikijunior book “Dinosaurs”. Dinosaurs were the biggest animals ever to walk this Earth, and their stories excite the imagination of kids of all ages. Dinosaurs have long been extinct, but the creativity of a child is so great that it can be benefited even by learning of a creature that walked the Earth millions of years ago.

The importance of this task has led many experts here at Wikibooks to donate their time and talents to bring this volume together. To learn more about how this book is being created, please see About this book

This book will give you a basic understanding of dinosaurs and some of the events that happened in their time. Of all the creatures that have walked this Earth, few have captured our imagination and fed our desire for knowledge like the dinosaurs have.

Dinosaurs

Tyrannosaurus Rex Stegosaurus Allosaurus Apatosaurus Pterosaurs Triceratops Plesiosaur Ichthyosaur Pachycephalosaurus Velociraptor Herrerasaurus Ankylosaurus Iguanodon Brontosaurus

One Day Millions Of Years Ago

One day, you are walking through a prehistoric forest, you hear a twig snap behind you. You turn, slowly, hoping that it isn't what you think it is. Standing behind you is a Stegosaurus, chomping away on some leafy ferns. You breathe a sigh of relief. You were afraid it was a predator with its eye on you as a tasty snack. Of course, that was millions of years ago, so it could only happen in your imagination. In fact it was so long ago that there were no people around at all; there weren't even any apes or monkeys yet!

The prehistoric world of the dinosaurs is both strange and exciting. Many things were very different from what you see today. Some dinosaurs stood taller than buildings, and others weighed as much as your entire family put together. Some dinosaurs were small enough to fit in your backpack. Some would not hesitate to eat you on the spot if they were hungry. Others spent all day chomping on ferns and other plants. The one kind of dinosaur that never existed was a dull dinosaur!

There is so much to know about dinosaurs. What is a dinosaur? How is it different from animals today? Are there any dinosaurs living now? Where did dinosaurs live? What did they eat? What did they look like? Why are they gone? How do we know about dinosaurs? Were other animals living at the time of the dinosaurs? How did dinosaurs get their food? Did dinosaurs sleep? How did dinosaurs move? How did dinosaurs protect themselves? Did dinosaurs fight? Could dinosaurs swim? How big was a baby dinosaur? Were dinosaurs poisonous? No matter how long this book is, it could never cover everything there is to know about every dinosaur. If you wish to learn more about dinosaurs, you can find lots of information at the library. You can check out the reference section in the back of the book. You can also visit natural history museums.