Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
The In the Time of the Dinosaurs
Joanna Cole · 2016
87/100
👍 Worth It
The Magic School Bus formula works because Joanna Cole never talks down to kids — the science is real, the humor is genuine, and Bruce Degen's illustrations pack in a second layer of information that rewards slow lookers. Some of the paleontology reflects 1994 knowledge, so a few details have since been revised, but that's a minor caveat for a book that remains one of the best science-adventure hybrids in children's publishing.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety98
substance88
craft88
originality80
accuracy78
hype80
age-fit92
human-eye90
Penny’s verdict87
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