MY FIRST POP-UP DINOSAURS

A low-key 3-D portrait gallery of dinos and prehistoric reptiles.

Showing considerable improvement over the lackadaisically designed dinos he made for Sheri Safran’s Dinosaurs! (2015), the 15 models that paper engineer Hawcock presents here sport natural-looking parts and poses. Some, such as a marine Elasmosaurus raising its sinuous neck as the spread opens and T. Rex flashing its toothy dentifrice directly at viewers, even offer realistic movement. Other effects include a Brachiosaurus that sticks its head up high above the top of the book (it will surely be the first to tear off) and a small flock of Coelophysis that race along at three levels of depth. Illustrator Davey kits nearly all out in brightly contrasting skin patterns or dramatic sprays of feathers, and he places each against plain or minimally detailed backgrounds to make shapes and colors pop. He sticks to mostly subdued earth or marine tones—even the turkeylike Oviraptor sports fairly staid plumage. Aside from polysyllabic one-word labels in big type with pronunciation guides beneath, there is no text.

Fine fare for younger dinophiles alone, one-on-one, or in herds.