What Did Dinosaurs Eat? is the second collaboration between Toronto author Elizabeth MacLeod and Hamilton, Ontario, illustrator Gordon Sauvé. The first, Dinosaurs: The Fastest, the Fiercest, the Most Amazing, covered similar ground, introducing younger children to many different dinosaurs.

What Did Dinosaurs Eat? is divided into 14 double-page spreads, each asking a simple question, such as, how fast could dinosaurs run? and how were baby dinosaurs born? A short answer follows each question and informative captions relate to the accompanying illustrations. At the back is a parent-friendly list giving the meanings and pronunciations of the dinosaurs’ names, and three kid-friendly web sites where you can find the answers to a host of other questions and even hear a dinosaur call.

Gordon Sauvé’s illustrations are up to date, colourful, and dramatic. Although notes are included on the sizes of the dinosaurs pictured, adding a scale such as a human figure would have given a visual sense of size. For the most part, answers are age-appropriate and some are vividly illustrative: for example, a child could lie down in an Apatosaurus footprint, and the T. rex had teeth as long as bananas. Unfortunately, simplicity is sometimes taken too far, occasionally leaving a false impression. (For example, even though pterosaurs are called reptiles in the text, discussing them under the question “Could dinosaurs fly?” feeds the common misconception that these creatures were dinosaurs.) However, these are minor points and, to some extent, unavoidable in writing for this age level. Overall, this is a well-designed, visually entertaining introduction to dinosaurs for the pre-schooler.