Cats & Cat Family, Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Animals

Ice Age Sabertooth : The Most Ferocious Cat That Ever Lived

Name: Ice Age Sabertooth : The Most Ferocious Cat That Ever Lived
Author: Barbara Hehner, Mark Hallett
ISBN: 9780375913280

by Barbara Hehner, Mark Hallett

Write a review

Overview

The Ice Age Sabertooth kept its most formidable weapon right in its mouth—a pair of enormous curved teeth with serrated edges like steak knives, as long and as sharp as the teeth of a Tyrannosaurus rex! It was one of the fiercest cats to ever live. And because so many sabertooth cats died in the asphalt pools of what is now known as Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, scientists know more about them than any other prehistoric cat. Ice Age Sabertooth tells the story of these ferocious predators—how they lived, hunted, and killed their prey, and what they may have looked like.

In this second book in the Ice Age Animals series, stunning illustrations by acclaimed artist Mark Hallett, full-color photographs, fascinating maps, and informative diagrams bring the fierce sabertooth cat—and the world it lived in—to life.

About the Author, Barbara Hehner, Mark Hallett

Barbara Hehner is a writer, editor, and the author of many childen’s books. She collaborated on an award-winning science series for children.

Mark Hallett is a world renowned paleoartist. He was the scientific consultant who helped create the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Children's Literature

Focusing in on the area around the LaBrea Tar Pits in California, Hehner describes the life that existed there in the Ice Age, with emphasis on the tiger whose fossils have been preserved in the pits. Information about what they looked like, how they hunted, where they lived and what happened to them is followed by a discussion of their threatened feline descendents today. Naturalistic paintings based on fossil evidence add melodramatic actions that supplement photographs of existing bone fragments along with modern relatives. The illustrations are, in the main, large and detailed, adding greatly to the more technical text. Index, glossary, suggestions for further reading, even web sites are included. 2002, Crown Books for Young Readers, $16.95. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-A companion volume to Hehner's Ice Age Mammoth (Crown, 2001). Equally handsome, with dramatic illustrations re-creating the Pleistocene landscape and its inhabitants in North America, it will be welcomed by readers for its own sake as well as by young report writers. The informative text presents what is known about these big cats from their fossilized remains, and discusses what paleontologists surmise about their outward appearance, behavior, and hunting techniques. Focusing mainly on Smilodon fatalis, the author mentions other sabertooth cats and the American lion (not to be confused with the puma). Opening with a fictional scene at what are now called the La Brea tar pits, the text includes information boxes, a map, and a look at the feline evolutionary "tree." The text is occasionally superimposed on the illustrations, making for some difficulty in reading. This book will be well received by ardent fans of large predators and lovers of prehistoric fauna.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.