Only three types of dinosaurs were known when they were first named dinosaur, meaning "terrible lizard," more than 150 years ago. Before then, Elin Kelsey writes in Finding Out About Dinosaurs (Owl $9.95), the fossilized bones were thought to belong to giant humans. Now paleontologists regard dinosaurs as neither lizards nor terrible, but the name persists and the subject remains of undying interest. Kelsey, who headed education programs at the Vancouver Aquarium, the Calgary Zoo and the Canadian Museum of Nature, introduces scientists and their creative approaches to discovering how we know what we know about the world's most elusive animals. Kelsey is also author of Finding Out About Whales, the first book in the Science Explorers series. 1-895688-98-1

[Louise Donnelly / BCBW 2000]