Sabertooth - Hardcover

O'Brien, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805071059 ISBN 13: 9780805071054

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2008

Synopsis

Long ago there lived big cats whose giant teeth make today’s cats look tame: sabertooth! Those teeth helped it compete with other predators for a meal of mammoth—or even a tasty human.

 

Then, ten thousand years ago, every last sabertooth disappeared. With only ancient bones—and massive teeth—to guide them, scientists are learning amazing facts about these enormous prehistoric cats.

 

Patrick O’Brien’s captivating illustrations, exciting facts, and kidfriendly, comics-inspired design will thrill young adventurers.

About this title

About the Author

PATRICK O’BRIEN is the author/illustrator of many books for young readers. He lives with his wife and children in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reviews

Grade 3–5—A look at saber-toothed cats, with an emphasis on Smilodon, which perished in the thousands in the La Brea Tar Pits, leaving their blackened bones to be discovered 10,000 years later. O'Brien traces the feline family back to early Proailurus (30 to 20 million years ago), mentions a number of species, and includes some non-feline predators with saberlike canines. Realistic watercolor and gouache illustrations lend eye-catching glamour to the captionlike text, showing Smilodon's skeletal makeup and making life-size comparisons of teeth from a sabertooth, a modern tiger, and a modern human. Other contemporary predators are illustrated as well, along with a picture gallery of possible prey. While some recent research seems to indicate a measure of dental "fragility" limiting bite pressure, O'Brien opts for the cat's "huge teeth" as "perfect for biting through the thick, hairy hide of big beasts, such as mammoths and buffalo." Even if you already own Barbara Hehner's dramatic Ice Age Sabertooth: The Most Ferocious Cat That Ever Lived (Crown, 2002), you might want to make room for this sure-to-be-popular work.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

O’Brien, whose previous children’s books on prehistoric animals include Megatooth (2001) and Mammoth (2002), now offers this large-format, fully illustrated volume on prehistoric cats with canine teeth so long, sharp, and curving that they are called sabertooths. After introducing several contemporary cats as well as several kinds of sabertooths, O’Brien focuses mainly on the Smilodon genus. He shows a large illustration of a Smilodon skeleton and points out that no one really knows the color or pattern of a sabertooth’s fur, and in a series of smaller paintings, he offers several alternate views of the animals. O’Brien writes clearly about the sabertooths as well as the other prehistoric animals and the La Brea Tar Pits, a rich source of their skeletal remains. The book’s main strength, though, is its excellent artwork, which portrays dramatic scenes and quiet studies of the animals with equal skill and attention to detail. A visually strong introduction. Grades 2-4. --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805071059
• ISBN 13: 9780805071054
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: O'Brien Patrick
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32