Announcing the Release of
Ankylosaur Attack
Image by Daniel Loxton with Jim W. W. Smith. © 2011. All Rights Reserved.
Finally! After a year (and more) of work and months of anticipation, I’m able to reveal my newest children’s book: Ankylosaur Attack, from Kids Can Press.
Illustrated by the Junior Skeptic art team of yours truly with Jim W. W. Smith, Ankylosaur Attack is a full-color hardcover storybook about a day in the life of a dinosaur. It’s intended for my youngest audience yet: ages four and up. (It’s approved by my own five-year old, whose discerning taste in dinosaurs is unparalleled.)
Ankylosaur Attack is in stock now at Amazon.com and available for pre-order at Amazon.ca. (The official release date is September 1, 2011. Skeptic.com and most other major North American booksellers will have it in stock in the coming days.)
The most complicated illustration challenge of my career, Ankylosaur Attack took many months to achieve. But it was an absolute hoot to work on. I’m perhaps best known for my non-fiction skeptical writing, but illustration is my first love—and, are not roaring, stomping, fighting dinosaurs the very soul of art?
I’m pleased to say that those long, eye-watering weeks we spent painting thousands of individual scales paid off. “Even by current high standards, the full-spread art is uncommonly photorealistic,” according to Kirkus Reviews. (As I have for previous projects, I’ll reveal a few of our tricks and technical challenges in the weeks ahead.)
For now, I’ll thank the extraordinary Jim W. W. Smith for his 3D-modeling genius, my incomparable editor Valerie Wyatt, and all the wonderful people at Kids Can Press—and then leave you with this promotional copy:
Ankylosaur Attack
This mind-blowing feast for the eye uses photorealistic, computer-generated images to illustrate what dinosaurs might have looked like in their natural environment. Complementing the extraordinary images is an exciting, natural history-inspired story about a young ankylosaur (a plant-eating, heavy-plated dinosaur) living along the lush banks of a lake. When he encounters an old ankylosaur, he gently endeavors to make contact, only to be rebuffed. Then a T. rex attacks, and old dinosaur is in grave danger. Will the T. rex triumph? It looks that way, until the young ankylosaur comes to the rescue, tail club swinging. Ankylosaur Attack is book one in the “Tales of Prehistoric Life” series. Dramatic stories + eye-popping visuals = a surefire hit with young dinosaur lovers.
- Reading level: Ages 4 and up
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Kids Can Press (September 1, 2011)
- List Price: $16.95 US / $16.96 CDN
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Fantastic! I’m straight off to Amazon after typing this. I must have the *second* most discerning dinosaur-obsessed five-year-old. This may be familiar to you: http://shellity.blogspot.com/2011/06/dinosaurs.html
I am just over 40. Is there something in this work for everyone?
Congrats Daniel! It looks awesome!
Great work, Dan! I’m going to fire off an e-mail to our local library and suggest that they get this book.
That looks like a fantastic book. Ankylosaurs have always been among my favorites. I’m going to pass this along to my local librarian, too.
Interestingly, Amazon currently shows one used copy available for $27.02 (more than double the new price!) that, according to the seller, has a remainder mark.
Pricing algorithms used by Amazon used book sellers can generate some very odd, inflated list prices (sometimes in the millions of dollars).
The artwork is beautiful Daniel.Congratulations!
I don’t see a digital version yet. Should I expect one? (I doubt we’ll wait for one anyway.)
Not that I know of. (I would note that Kids Can Press has not produced a digital version of my previous book, Evolution.)
Hey, how come there aren’t any people in the pictures? :) jk
Congratulations, Daniel. It is a lovely book with a sweet storyline. My seven-year-old son read it to me as soon as it arrived, and my entire family enjoyed it. Scientifically accurate and visually stunning, much like your book Evolution. Also, we liked the T Rex slobber. :)