Dig Those Dinosaurs

The Naturescapes series kicks off with Dinosaurs: The Age of Giant Creatures by Christina Wilsdon, illus. by Christopher Srnka, and Mountains: An Inside Look at Earth's Forces by Linda Falken, illus. by David A. Hardy. The packaging is arresting: on the covers, diecut openings showcase plastic 3-D illustrations of, respectively, a green Triceratops and a purple mountaintop. More 3-D images surface on gatefolds inside the front covers (a dinosaur timeline and pictures showing how a mountain is created); the books themselves, printed on heavy stock, each combine text, plentiful illustrations and sidebars on 16 tabbed pages.