Howard Temperley - There Were Dinosaurs Everywhere!: A Rhyming Romp Through Dinosaur History

Text copyright 2012 by Howard Temperley Illustrations copyright 2012 by Michael Kline First edition published in 2005 as: In The Days of Dinosaurs: A Rhyming Romp Through Dino History.There Were Dinosaurs Everywhere! is a much expanded, revised and altered edition published in 2012 by: KWS Publishers 1516 North State Parkway Chicago, Illinois 60610 U.S.A. www.kwspub.com All rights reserved No part of this book, in part or in whole, may be reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, record, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. British Library and Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data are available. ISBN 978-1-937783-16-7 This 2012 edition edited by Lisa Wagner Book design and production by Studio 31 www.studio31.com Manufactured in China through Asia Pacific Offset, August 2012 This product conforms to CPSIA 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 TO ANNABEL ANP DANIEL BURNLEY, FOR WHOM MANY OF THESE VERSES WERE, ORIGINALLY WRITTEN

L ong before my day and yours The world was full of dinosaurs, And where today our houses stand Herds of them would roam the land, From East to West and North to South, From mountain top to river mouth, Splashing about in river pools Where now stand office blocks and schools, Strutting about on springy legs, Building nests and laying eggs, From the Arctic Circle to Peru, And all around the Equator too, On land and sea and in the air, There were dinosaurs everywhere. So as you sit and read this book Just think how different it would look If all the familiar things you know Melted away like winters snow, And there before your very eyes Were creatures of ENORMOUS size, With lashing tails and massive jaws, Spiky backs and crooked claws, That waddled, hopped and lumbered by The places we now occupy, As though this weird menagerie Had just as much a right to be Upon this Earth as you and me Which makes me wonder what theyd say About the world we have today. L ife began, as you may know, In the oceans long ago, A billion or more years before Creatures ventured onto shore.

But gradually, as time went by, Some evolved that didnt die When left stranded by the tide In the way that others died: Amphibians that crept about Half in the water and half out, Growing legs and breathing air And preying on the insects there. So as some lived and others died They gradually diversified, Till life on land came to be As varied as the life at sea. At first they simply crawled around With their bellies on the ground, As crocodiles and turtles do, And newts and alligators too; But then, as time went by, Some of them began to try Running the way land creatures do, Some on four legs, some on two, Finding that they could leave the sea And live on land entirely, Developing along the way Teeth that helped them catch their prey, BIGGER horns and thicker skins, Sharper claws and LONGER shins, Necks designed to help them feed, And some grew VERY LARGE indeed. So that is how they came to be The very creatures that you see Illustrated in this book Turn the pages, have a look.

T his plant-eating reptile is not aware That by leaving the sea and breathing air It is starting a trend that eventually Will lead, not only to you and me, But to Beethovens Choral Symphony, To Shakespeare, Dickens and J. K.

Rowling, Computer games and ten-pin-bowling, Michael Jackson and The Forsyte Saga, Dantes Inferno and Lady Gaga, The Sistine Chapel and Wagners Ring And a future beyond our imagining. How strange that such a cultural feast Should stem from such an ugly beast.

T his scutosaur is a sorry sight, I do not think it sleeps at night. Its belly sags, its skin is slack, It has a mountain on its back. It looks as if its lifes a bore. O ne of the biggest beasts of all, Brachiosaurus was so tall It had the kind of head one sees Bobbing over the tops of trees, And as it slowly ambled round Its mighty footsteps shook the ground. O ne of the biggest beasts of all, Brachiosaurus was so tall It had the kind of head one sees Bobbing over the tops of trees, And as it slowly ambled round Its mighty footsteps shook the ground.

But there were limits to the weight Its slender neck would tolerate, And as it needed teeth to chew, A nose, and eyes, and ears, too, The space remaining was so small It virtually had no brain at all.

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