WHEN DINOS DAWNED, MAMMALS GOT MUNCHED, & PTEROSAURS TOOK FLIGHT: A CARTOON PREHISTORY OF LIFE IN THE TRIASSIC

WHEN DINOS DAWNED, MAMMALS GOT MUNCHED, & PTEROSAURS TOOK FLIGHT: A CARTOON PREHISTORY OF LIFE IN THE TRIASSIC, written and illustrated by Hannah Bonner (National Geographic 2012)(ages 8+).  In this follow-up to WHEN BUGS WERE BIG, PLANTS WERE STRANGE, AND TETRAPODS STALKED THE EARTH and WHEN FISH GOT FEET, SHARKS GOT TEETH, AND BUGS BEGAN TO SWARM, Bonner explores (in 48-page picture book format) the Triassic, the period when dinosaurs, mammals, and pterosaurs all first appeared.

Bonner's illustrations are lively and fun, while providing a detailed look at the flora and fauna of the era.  The text, too, is engaging, full of wit, and surprisingly comprehensive.  Altogether, a terrific introduction to the dawn of the dinosaurs. 

Here's a Cynsations interview with Bonner from 2008.