Ice Age Sabertooth: The Most Ferocious Cat That Ever Lived - Hardcover

Hehner, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375813284 ISBN 13: 9780375813283

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2002

Synopsis

The Ice Age Sabertooth kept its most formidable weapon right in its mouth—a pair of enormous curved teeth with serrated edges like steak knives, as long and as sharp as the teeth of a Tyrannosaurus rex! It was one of the fiercest cats to ever live. And because so many sabertooth cats died in the asphalt pools of what is now known as Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, scientists know more about them than any other prehistoric cat. Ice Age Sabertooth tells the story of these ferocious predators—how they lived, hunted, and killed their prey, and what they may have looked like.

In this second book in the Ice Age Animals series, stunning illustrations by acclaimed artist Mark Hallett, full-color photographs, fascinating maps, and informative diagrams bring the fierce sabertooth cat—and the world it lived in—to life.

About this title

About the Author

Barbara Hehner is a writer, editor, and the author of many childen’s books. She collaborated on an award-winning science series for children.

Mark Hallett is a world renowned paleoartist. He was the scientific consultant who helped create the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park.

Reviews

Grade 5-7-A companion volume to Hehner's Ice Age Mammoth (Crown, 2001). Equally handsome, with dramatic illustrations re-creating the Pleistocene landscape and its inhabitants in North America, it will be welcomed by readers for its own sake as well as by young report writers. The informative text presents what is known about these big cats from their fossilized remains, and discusses what paleontologists surmise about their outward appearance, behavior, and hunting techniques. Focusing mainly on Smilodon fatalis, the author mentions other sabertooth cats and the American lion (not to be confused with the puma). Opening with a fictional scene at what are now called the La Brea tar pits, the text includes information boxes, a map, and a look at the feline evolutionary "tree." The text is occasionally superimposed on the illustrations, making for some difficulty in reading. This book will be well received by ardent fans of large predators and lovers of prehistoric fauna.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-9. "Ferocious" is the word for this extra-large-size picture book in the Ice Age Animals series, which includes double-page, full color illustrations by the artist who helped create the dinosaurs for Spielberg's Jurassic Park. The dramatic pictures grab attention and the detailed, straightforward text fills in the astonishing facts. Hehner begins with the story of the Rancho La Brea site in southern California, where paleontologists have discovered the bones of sabertooths that lived during the last ice age, then talks about how the fossils were discovered as well as what they can reveal about the sabertooth and other extinct animals. What causes an ice age? Why did the sabertooth need killer teeth? Why did the animal become extinct? The questions are incisive, and the answers are still very open, making this exciting science for reports and further research. A glossary, a brief bibliography, and notation of two Web sites are appended. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375813284
• ISBN 13: 9780375813283
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Hallett Mark
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32