About Raptors... the Birds, Not the Dinosaurs...

I'm not going to lie. When I saw that we were publishing a book called About Raptors: A Guide for Children, I got really excited. You see, I love dinosaurs. Velociraptors in particular. I am well aware of the American Society for Velociraptor Attack Prevention and can't stop laughing at the XKCD webcomic pictured below.

And then it hit me... The raptors in this book were not the ones I was picturing in my head. They were birds. Cue the disappointment. However, I soldiered onward and read the book, coming to the conclusion that raptor birds are nearly as awesome as raptor dinosaurs. So below, I give you my list of:

THINGS I LEARNED FROM ABOUT RAPTORS THAT MAKE BIRDS AS AWESOME AS DINOSAURS.

1. They are birds of prey  that hunt and eat other animals, just like velociraptors did.
2. Raptors have hooked beaks for tearing meat, just like the sharp teeth did for the velociraptor.
3. Both have strong feet with sharp claws, or talons.
4. Birds can FLY. Some can even capture their prey in the air or snatch food from the water! Take that velociraptor! (Fun Fact: Raptors fly different ways according to the shape of their wings!)
5. Some raptor birds hunt for and eat animals that are already dead. I don't know if velociraptors did this too, but either way, I think it has that gross factor that would fascinate kids.
6. Birds create really cool nests. Some are on the ground, others are in trees.  Some are even in holes or on cliff ledges. I'm no expert, but I doubt many velociraptors hung out on cliff ledges.
7. Raptors live almost everywhere in the world, when velociraptors a) are extinct and b) when they were alive, only lived in Central Asia. 
8. There are 450 types raptor birds in the world, but only one type of velociraptor.
9. When referring to raptors, I get to use cool words like carrion and crepuscular, that make me sound smart.

In conclusion, I learned there are some things in the world that can be just as great as velociraptors. This is a perfect book to use to introduce your dinosaur loving kiddos to the raptors of today. Do you have a favorite dinosaur? Did you learn something today about raptors? Don't forget to check out the other books in the About... Series.
 

How can you not laugh at a velociraptor on a bike?! Oh the wonderful things that the internet brings to me...