PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Matt Doeden is a freelance author and editor from Minnesota. He's written numerous children's books on sports, music, current events, the military, extreme survival, and much more. His books Sandy Koufax (Twenty-First Century Books, 2006) and Tom Brady: Unlikely Champion (Twenty-First Century Books, 2011) were Junior Library Guild selections. Doeden began his career as a sports writer before turning to publishing. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and two children. Juan is a former biologist turned science illustrator, trained on the Science Illustration program at UC Monterrey Bay. He worked early on his illustrator career for field guides of plants and animals of his country of origin, Colombia, and now owns and works in his art studio, LIBERUM DONUM in BogotaColumbia, creating concept art, storyboarding and his passion: comic books.
"In a ""Choose Your Own Adventure"" style, each title takes readers through different prehistoric periods using fictionalized scenarios and dialogue. The books have a standard format that includes a common introduction, a story from modern times, three different interactive worlds from the past, and a summary of the specific historical period. The characters interact with animals, plants, and occasionally humans in the often deadly adventures. Black-and-white illustrations portray the action well and complement the text. The back matter contains critical thinking questions, recommended reading in print and online, a bibliography, a glossary, and an index. One scenario in Could You Survive the Jurassic Period? stretches credulity, and the content in the other titles comes across as didactic at times. VERDICT While there are cross curricular applications with science and social studies, these titles aren't as strong as others in the series.--Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY ""School Library Journal"""
