ANIMAL GHOSTS
Edited by Claudea Clow
Illustrated by Walt Disney Productions
One of the coolest
dinosaur books ever! I had totally forgotten about this book until my
friend Bob Richey showed me his copy. Recently I found a picture I drew
in first grade of a Tyrannosaurus fighting a grizzly bear that was
obviously inspired by the artwork in this book. The illustrator is
identified only as "Walt Disney Productions." All the art looks like
the work of a single person, though. It's hard to know if the Disney
artists were adept at making art that looked like the work of one
person or if Disney simply didn't want to credit the genius who created
these pictures.
The book was published by Weekly Reader Books in 1971 and carries a
Disney copyright. The illustrations and stories are superb. But most
have been rendered anachronistic these days -- the fight between the
grizzly and T-Rex in particular. Most scientists nowadays would robably
predict the dinosaur to win that one.
I love the way they call stegosaurus a "scary salad eater." I think I'd
like that to be my nickname!
And you don't often see giant crocodiles depicted as munching on big
dinosaurs, though they certainly must have from time to time.
Finally, I love the gigantic snapping turtle in the last picture. I
don't know if we're intended to see it as being 50 feet long or if this
is supposed to be forced perspective and the dinosaur is intended to be
a baby. In any case it's cool and reminds me of Gamera, the giant
prehistoric turtle from Japanese monster movies!
