The Dinosaur of Waterhouse Hawkins

Written by Barbara Kerley

Narrated by Jonathan Pryce

There was a time when few knew what dinosaurs looked like. This is the story of how Waterhouse Hawkins built the first life-sized dinosaur models and stunned the world with his awe-inspiring creations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Weston Woods
• Release date: Jan 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9780545467384

Barbara Kerley

When she was a baby, Barbara Kerley shared nap time and her crib with a cat named Mrs. Hancock. Barbara now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, Scott, and their dog, Seamus—who, she is pretty sure, understands everything she says. Barbara is the award-winning author of numerous books for kids, including Following Baxter, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, What to Do about Alice?, A Home for Mr. Emerson, and A Cool Drink of Water. You can learn more about her pets and her books at www.barbarakerley.com.

Reviews for The Dinosaur of Waterhouse Hawkins

[mferaci-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins tells about Waterhouse Hawkins and how he brought to life the first dinosaur for the world to see. During the time Hawkins lived there were no drawings or sculptures of dinosaurs. Hawkins studied fossils and created sculptures of the dinosaurs for people to see. This book is a very informational biography and the illustrations are fantastic. The illustrator does a great job throughout the book, but especially on the cover. It's almost impossible not to read the book after seeing the cover.

[magen.rauscher · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book focused on the historical fiction of the creation of dinosaur statues in the 1850's. This book would teach my students about the differrent forms of garments that people wore in different decades. I could also use this book to teach my students about dinosaurs. The illustrations of this book really brought the dinosaurs to life on the page.

[mstanley33 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley is the winner of a Caldecott Honor Award. Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, Waterhouse for short brought dinosaurs to life for the world to see. He started off at his home in England creating life-size models of dinosaurs. He used dinosaurs bone and with the help of scientist he created his models. His work is shown in the Crystal Palace Park in England. Hawkins then traveled to New York City to bring his dinosaurs to America! Unfortunately he ran into some trouble with the cruel politician, "Boss" Tweed. He was unable to create the museum he wished for but he did make the first fossil model of a dinosaurs and created paintings and murals so that America could have their dinosaurs. This is a great informational book to use in a 4th-6th grade classroom when learning about artists and/or dinosaurs. The illustrations in this story are magnificent, Brian Selznick did a wondrous job. After reading this book student could research more information on that time period and learn more about "Boss" Tweed. Students could also try and replicate a model of a dinosaurs like Waterhouse did.

[amberthehuman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is on a list of books that I found in a notebook I've had since high school. I don't know why I made the list or where the book suggestions came from (The Metamorphosis was on there too). But I'm glad I made that list, 'cause this is a great book on a subject I knew nothing about. Definite recommend.

Update: This was given to me this past Christmas by my fiance's parents. Love it! Very proud to have it on my shelf.

[jniehof_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a great non-fiction picture book that introduces children to dinosaurs, the World's Fair, the Crystal Palace, and Waterhouse Hawkins himself. Hawkins created life-size models of dinosaurs in the early 1900's in Britain and the United States. There is intrigue and conspiracy and world travel, and the book will hopefully encourage further research. I had to look up the World's Fair and the Crystal Palace when I was done, just to see if Brian Selznick captured them well. He did. I would have this in my collection at a public library.

[lmhudson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book tells of Waterhouse Hawkins and how his love of art led him to create the first dinosaur replicas. Even though the replicas are not completely accurate they are still in the Crystal Place today.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to imagine, but not so long ago the general population didn't really have any idea what dinosaurs were all about - what kind of creatures they were, how and when they lived, what they looked like - and they certainly couldn't rattle their complicated names off in a glib list, as so many children today will happily do, at the drop of a hat. That began to change in the mid-nineteenth century however, as ignorance gave way to an enthusiastic thirst for knowledge, something that was owing, not just to scientists and their discoveries, but to the work of a man named Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, an artist who created the first three-dimensional, life-sized models of these prehistoric creatures. His dinosaur models were first made available to the public in 1854, at the opening of the Crystal Palace - the science museum founded by Victoria and Albert - something that made Hawkins something of a celebrity in his day. Commissioned to create similar models of the American dinosaurs, only to see his work vandalized and destroyed by corrupt New York City politician Boss Tweed (boo! hiss!), Hawkins worked well into his old age, and, when new discoveries demonstrated his models were incorrect, welcomed the additional information.The third picture-book biography I have read by Barbara Kerley - the previous two are What to Do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! and The Extraordinary Mark Twain - this wonderful title accomplishes a great deal in its brief page-span (a hallmark of great picture-books). Not only does it tell an immensely engaging personal story, the story of Waterhouse Hawkins, it also highlights a number of important ideas that young readers may never have considered - such as the fact that we didn't always know what we know now, scientifically speaking, or that our ideas have to change, as new evidence emerges - without ever descending into any kind of overt didacticism. The accompanying artwork, which won Brian Selznick a Caldecott Honor (he won the medal itself for The Invention of Hugo Cabret), is just as appealing as the narrative, capturing the excitement of Hawkins' work, and the disappointment of his dashed American hopes. All in all, a superb biography for younger readers, one that is both educational and entertaining - it has a dinner party given inside a dinosaur model: what could be cooler than that?!? - as well as physically beautiful! A sure winner for dinosaur lovers young and old!

[themulhern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fine illustrations in a pretty world of Victorians and models of those newly discovered dinosaurs. A nice endpaper in which Hawkins is shown redrawing the dinosaurs as they are understood to have looked by modern paleontologists. This is not a story that is usually told, although I remember reading about the dinner in the dinosaur somewhere before. Good work!

[amygatt_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book -Waterhouse Hawkins sounds like such a character, I loved the description of his carefully planned dinner party for big names in British paleontology. This book show how deeply he cared for his work - I felt devastated when I learned that his work for Central Park was destroyed. It was such a shock as a reader, I can't imagine what it must actually have been like for him. I love the last page of this book, especially because I studied archaeology - how fun would it be to have an excavation in Central Park to look for these destroyed pieces of dinosaur models? I will always remember this story when I go to Central Park.This book would be such a fun addition to a unit on dinosaurs for second to third graders, especially because it creates such a personal connection to this subject. I also like that it shows how human knowledge of dinosaurs has evolved over time.

[claireforhan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. I initially picked it thinking it would be good for young boys to read who enjoy dinosaurs, I did not realize how informational and interesting this book would be. This book tells a brief history of Waterhouse Hawkins, the first man to create drawings and models of dinosaurs. It breaks his life into three stages and hits the main accomplishments and low points of his life. The pictures are truly wonderful and add life to the story. Multiple times there is a drawing of Waterhouse thinking about dinosaurs and a small boy following him. Who this boy is is never identified. It could be Waterhouse as a young boy, an image of his past that sparked his love for dinosaurs. The young boy could also be a general boy representing all the young kids that Waterhouse helped to inspire by his drawings and models. The final image is of a young boy drawing, which could be inspirational to young kids reading this book- that they too can draw real life creatures and discover something new.Teaching Extension-Definitely use this book to open a unit on dinosaurs. It is fun and engaging but at the same time very factual. Have students draw or create their own dinosaur models.

[emilydrennan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Waterhouse Hawkins was the first man to design and build life-size models of dinosaurs. This story goes through his successes and struggles of creating these dinosaurs. At this time, no one really knew what a dinosaur looked like, so Waterhouse's models really amazed people. He only had fossils to refer to when creating his models and this book really does a great job of portraying his models. This book provides so much information about the life of Waterhouse Hawkins and how much he devoted to his life's work. I had never heard of him before, but I am so glad I read this book and had the opportunity to learn about such an interesting person. As an activity, each student could create their own model dinosaur.