Titanosaur: Discovering the World's Largest Dinosaur, written by Jose Luis Carballdio, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Troy A.

Summary: One day, in Patagonia, Argentina, a gaucho finds a strange object poking out of the ground. Readers will learn that a gaucho is a skilled horseman, sort of like American cowboys. He goes to a museum and asks to see the paleontologists, as he found a bone larger than the skeleton on display. The two paleontologists were more than eager to drive out to the ranch because they knew that other fossils had been found in that area. The bone was, in fact, one of the largest dinosaur bones they had ever seen.  A dig team was assembled to dig up the bones. They were realizing that the bones may have belonged to a Titanosaur, the largest known dinosaur that walked the Earth. The expedition team spent 1000s of hours digging up bones, doing research and getting the bones moved. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is the perfect book for dinosaur lovers. The story of a strange rock discovery turning into a 122-foot long behemoth should leave young readers exclaiming “whoaaaaa” when they see the completed skeleton. Although there are some unfamiliar words, they are explained in an understandable way, often with images to provide a visual aid. The unique visuals provide a fascinating view of the work the archeological team had to put in to dig up the bones and construct the skeleton. The book contains illustrations and photos of the actual dig.  This book would be a good book to complement a biology lesson. It also promotes science careers. The book would also be a good choice for Spanish teachers when teaching culture lessons. The dinosaur was unearthed in Argentina, so students would get an introduction to a few Spanish words, names and places. There are a lot of cross-curricular connections in the non-fiction picture book. I think lots of upper elementary and middle school readers would enjoy the dinosaur information found in this book. This would be a good choice for a dinosaur-themed book display.

Author Twitter: @poldiego 
Illustrator Twitter: @flogigena

Home to the world's biggest dinosaur: @mefpatagonia
Reviewer Twitter: @kjanek