The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 23rd Fossilized Psittacosaur Family

• This fossil illustrated here is proof that some species of dinosaurs lived in family groups, with the young living in a nest with a parent.
• Christmas wish list: The Fossilized Psittacosaur Family has one wish--to come to life and celebrate the night before Christmas! They need your help! Please comment, if there are enough comments, I'm sure the Psittacosaurs will come to LIFE! 

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 22nd Allosaurus in a flash flood

(to the tune of Chestnuts Roasting...)

"Allosaurus in a flash flood,

Jack Frost freezing T-rex's nose,

Apatosaurus, sinking into some tar,

and folks getting cooked by volcanos."

That's my Christmas song about dinosaur extinction, it didn't make the book, it's a work in progress.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 21st Purple Devilsaurus

• Purple Devilsaurus can be seen here, in her natural habitat, a crowded doorway. (Lower left corner, with the Barbie.) This particular Purple Devilsaurus is from a page in The Devil You Know.
• Christmas wish list: Purple Devil--"HEY! Is that YELLOWBELLY AND PLUM behind her! Wow! This is such a big surprise! Tell us, what are you working on? Will there be a sequel to your big hit book? What do YOU want for Christmas? This is fantastic!"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ....Purple Devilsaurus just wants a little peace and quiet.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 20th LEGOsaurus

• Isn't he super! I love it! The image for LEGOsaurus is not mine, it is clipped from a European ad campaign.
• Christmas wish list: LEGOsaurus needs nothing. He is completely at peace with existence.
  

[UPDATE] The Layton Barnes & Noble signing is off. I woke up soooo sick. Hello Ther-a-flu, how are you?

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 19th Plateosaurus

• Plateosaurus traveled in herds across Europe, during the Triassic period, when Europe was a desert. Like humans, Plateosaurus had five digits on each hand.
• Christmas wish list: Rapunzel's Revenge--in HARDCOVER, which is getting hard to find, it's now back ordered on Amazon.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 18th Stegosaurus

• Scientists claim Stegosaurus was an herbivore, grazing on plants. But I have a different theory. I think Stegosaurus was a meat eater, and this is how it operated: it would charge under the belly of a larger dinosaur, the plates on its back would slice open the dino from underneath, and all the guts would fall out. Then Stegosaurus would use the spikes on its tail to shish-kebab the guts for later. It's gross, but it's my theory.
• Christmas wish list: All Stegosaurus wants for Christmas is his two front teeth.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 17th Quetzocoatlus

• Technically, pterosaurs weren't dinosaurs, they were flying reptiles. Quetzo was the biggest of all the pterosaurs with a nearly 40 foot wing span.
• Christmas wish list: Custom "flame" paint job for beak. That would look so cool.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 16th Suchomimus

• I don't have any neat facts about Suchomimus, other than that he looks wicked awesome. I have to say that Suchomimus, for my money, is a cooler, scarier dinosaur than T. Rex. Big spiney back, long crocodile face, giant claws, why doesn't he have his own movie?
• Christmas wish list: The only thing Suchomimus wants is an extra two months to finish the drawings for his gigantic graphic novel project. Suchomimus is very short on time.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 15th Ankylosaur

• To eat an Ankylosaur, a predator would probably have to flip it over onto its back. The heavy, armored spikes would then be out of the way. Of course, the predator would still have that club tail swinging for the ankles. Maybe that's why it is called ANKYLosaur--it swings for the ankles.
• Christmas wish list: A gong. Ankylosaur could whale away at a gong for days.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 14th Amargasaurus

• Amargasaurus was a small sauropod who lived in South America. It had long, bony spines along its back.
• Christmas wish list: That the thing in the previous post, about Carnotaur's jaw not being strong enough to stop large prey, is true.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 13th Carnotaur

• Scientists are fairly sure that Carnotaur was a scavenger, the weak lower jaw wouldn't have had the strength to stop large prey. 
• Christmas wish list: BABYMOUSE!!!

[REMINDER!] Book signings today--Springvlle Art Museum at 11:00, West Jordan Barnes & Noble from 2-5:00. Come get your books signed!

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 12th Saichania

CRATCHET SAICHANIA: "Merry Christmas to you Mr. Scrooge, sir."

SCROOGE SAICHANIA: "Any fellow who goes about with a Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly in his heart. He should! Bah humbug! " WHACK!

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 11th Triceratops

• Triceratops was discovered in Wyoming by John Bell Hatcher. He discovered 32 Triceratops skulls in one county.
• Christmas wish list: One year membership to the Jelly-of-the-Month club. "That's the gift that keeps on givin' the whole year long."

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 10th Apatosaurus

• Apatosaurus is the correct name for the sauropod commonly referred to as Brontosaurus. Apatosaurus was identified and named first. Two years later, in 1879, Brontosaurs was discovered. Further study proved they were the same species. You might think the guy who discovered Brontosaurus would be angry, nope, same guy discovered both.
• Christmas wish list: Rock Band 2. Apatosaurus thinks Rock Band is ten times better than Guitar Hero. And she is right.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 9th Styracosaur

• Styracosaur is the one in the back, with all the horns. I know, I know, these are supposed to be dinosaurs that AREN'T in The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas--but this is from the back cover, so technically not in the book.
• Christmas wish list. Too bad Styracosaur, you don't get a wish list, today is my birthday (the 8th...the day I'm putting this together) and I get to post MY wish list. I want everyone to buy this book, and all my other books. Also I want the LEGO Coast Guard Chopper.
• Greetings to the folks who wandered over from Facebook. I just signed up today, I've been looking at photos of all my old classmates. What a fascinating, technological age we live in.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 8th Diplodocus

• New fossil evidence shows that Diplodocus had a row of spines along its back, like the modern day iguana. Those would have been pretty big spines.
• Christmas wish list: "I'd like another one of those big candy canes, Santa. Do you have Ginkgo flavor?"

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 7th Baby Maiasaura

• Christmas wish list: Two pair of skis, two pair of boots, season pass.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 6th Tyrannosaurus Rex

• An early version of "Santasaurus" looked very similar to this T. Rex, after looking at all those rows of teeth, the publishers and I decided that Santasaurus would work better as an herbivore.
• Christmas wish list: Pom-poms and a trampoline.
• This T. Rex made his appearance in this book and floor puzzle.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 5th Eoraptor

• From the Triassic Period, Eoraptor is one of the earliest known dinosaurs.
• Christmas wish list: A Very Marley Christmas--not the book, he wants to eat Marley the dog for Christmas. Although, since he's only three feet long, Marley might eat the Eoraptor.

[Reminder: Tomorrow, Orem Barnes and Noble, 1-4. Be there too!]

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 4th Brian

• Ceratopid family, habitat: Orchard Elementary.
• Christmas wish list: A sequel to Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School, this time he wants a speaking role.
  

[REMINDER--King's English Bookstore author party, tonight, 5:30-7. Be there!]

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 3rd Tsintaosaurus

• Tsintaosaurus was a hadrosaur from China with an unusual head crest.
• Christmas wish list: Unusual head crest cozy, something wool, like a hat, only taller and thinner.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 2nd Sauropod Egg

• Eggs from the Sauropod family (Brachiosaurus, Apatosaurus, "Long Necks," etc.) were spherical and had a very thick shell.
• Christmas wish list: Baby Mozart CD, padded headphones.

The Dinosaur-A-Day Christmas Advent

December 1st Albertosaurus

• Period: Late Cretaceous
• Named for the Alberta, Canada region.
• Christmas wish list: Fresh Centrosaurus carcus, also LEGO Coast Guard Chopper.