Exploring Mentor Texts: ALASKA DINOSAURS, MAMMOTHS, AND MORE

This brand new book (2025) is fascinating because it highlights the range of interesting creatures that have called the geographical area of Alaska home for hundreds of millions of years. Written by a paleobotanist and illustrated by an artist with several species named after him, it is filled with interesting facts, written in kid-friendly, engaging language.

Picture Book: ALASKA DINOSAURS, MAMMOTHS, AND MORE
Author: Kirk Johnson
Illustrator: Ray Troll

Things I loved about this book:

• I love that the focus is on one particular area (what is now Alaska) and all of the amazing creatures that have lived there over hundreds of millions of years.
• The format is very engaging. The illustrations are large and colorful. Most spreads focus on one creature, and include a timeline banner across the top of one of the pages (ie. Cretaceous Period - 73 Million Years Ago)
• The text is written in kid-friendly language with some awesome real-life comparisons, imagery, and scattered alliteration.
• The author has included wonderful details about the names of many of the creatures which honor various native languages and legends.

Some of my favorite lines:

• "These guys had very big eyes all the better to see you with in the darkness."
• "One little island in southeast Alaska has a shoreline that looks a lot like a stack of black pancakes."
• "Most ammonites had beautiful spiral-shaped shells, but some looked more like giant paperclips."
• "Numerous trackways are perfectly preserved in the fossilized forest floors of this long-vanished world."

Dinosaur lovers and young paleontology buffs are going to read this again and again! Make sure you check and it out and let me know what you think!