My 10-year-old daughter loves dinosaurs but was discouraged by all of the books that are written about them because of their evolutionist bent. She has read other dinosaur books by Christian authors, but she found them less interesting because they tend to talk more about evidence for man and dinosaurs living together and less about the dinosaurs themselves.

Dinosaurs by Elaine Graham-Kennedy, tries to take on the subject of dinosaurs from a Christian perspective. Her main goal is to have the children look at the facts as they are given in the Bible and shown in science and then decide what to believe.

Ms. Graham-Kennedy seems to be writing to a young audience, yet she discusses some very important theology. For instance, she writes, "Many Christians believe that the Bible tells us important facts about life on earth, and I agree. But what do we do if the facts from nature and the facts from the Bible seem to say two different things? This is a tough question to answer. Sometimes we understand the Bible better when we have more facts from nature. I think we need to study all the facts, not just the facts from nature, the Bible, or history. What do you believe?" I can see this questions being posed to a teenager, not a young child unless the parent is guiding them.

Throughout the book, Ms. Graham-Kennedy highlights various Christian perspectives and shows the differences between those views and an evolutionary view. I found myself scratching my head and saying, "So we don't really know anything?"

This book was hard for me to read. It seemed to be designed for a young reader (short sentences, simple words, etc.). There is even a section titled "Information for Grown-ups," yet the content is more for an older mind, one that can work through hard questions and decide what to believe. For example, the author states that it is possible for small dinosaurs or mid-sized dinosaurs to have been on Noah's ark, but she continues, "This does not prove that dinosaurs were on the ark or lived after the flood. It also doesn't prove that the Genesis Flood killed the dinosaurs. Those beliefs are based on faith." This is true, yet can a seven- or eight-year-old sort this out without guidance?

Elsewhere in the book she states, "These scientist who are Christian believe we find the truth where the Bible and scientific facts agree."

Topics covered include:

• What dinosaur bones tell us
• What their tracks tell us
• Skin marks, eggs, and nest evidence
• Where can we look for dinosaurs?
• Where did dinosaurs go?
• What the Bible says about dinosaurs

The message of God's gift of salvation is given very clearly. The author explains that the most feared t-rex was not created to eat other animals. God created it to eat plants. Yet in today's fallen world, all predators have a purpose. She explains how sin entered into the world and that death was not God's original plan for us. She writes, "God wants us to live with Him forever. We choose to die when we choose to disobey God. But God sent Jesus to live and die for us so that we can live with Him forever."

This book has a lot of good information about what we know and don't know about dinosaurs as a species. It does not talk in detail about any one particular dinosaur and its behavior. Maybe that is because, as she says, no one really knows.

In the end, this book encourages the young reader to decide what to believe based on evidence from both the Bible and science. It is also worth noting that the author discusses the two Bible passages that are frequently cited as being references to dinosaurs, (Job 41:8, 15, 29, 31 and Job 40:15, 17, 21), and she provides arguments to show that these were not dinosaurs. Regarding these verses, she once again asks the child: What do you think?

Product review by: Ruth Hoskins, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, August 2008