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TYRANNOSAURUS

Rights sold in: Turkey, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Northern Macedonia, Russia, Korea, China, Poland, PORTUGAL, Azerbaijan, Croatia

The Learn and try series is meant as an introduction to the world of different professions: botany, meteorology, film directing, archaeology, astronomy, etc. The concept of this series is such that in the first half of the book readers are introduced to each filed of science or profession - the historical background, famous people of each profession, basic concepts and procedures. The second half of the book gives various suggestions on how a reader can try to be one of these experts performing easily manageable tasks and experiments within each field. Each book also contains a part, which should be adapted for the local readership – namely a famous local expert in each field.

The first title was created in 2008 and the rest were made in the following 10 years.

People sometimes think all ancient vertebrates are dinosaur, from mammoths and pterosaurs to plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. But dinosaurs are a particular group of animals that have certain features in common, including living on land. Although some dinosaurs may have spent time in the water, just as elephants do today, they didn’t live in the water.

They’re a pretty mixed bunch—large and small, fast and slow, herbivores and carnivores, some with long necks, others with horns, plates, crests, spikes or body armour. With so many differ- ences, it’s hard to find many features they all share. As most of these features are rather technical, we’ll just look at a few impor- tant ones, all related to the way dinosaurs carried their weight.

TRICERATOPS

OMPSOGNATHUS

Many dinosaurs walked on two legs, like us. But, whereas we hold our bodies upright, dinosaurs held theirs horizontally, using their long tails for balance. Even the four-legged ones car- ried most of their weight on their back legs, again using their tails to balance the weight of the front part of the body.

Modern reptiles, like lizards, have the legs sprawled out horizon- tally at the sides of the body, as if they’re doing push-ups. It would be impossible to support a heavy load with such a posture, which is why dinosaurs held their legs vertically, beneath the body.

To achieve this, the head of the femur— the ball that fits into the hip socket—was set off at the side of the bone, rather than being at its end as it is in modern reptiles. The hip socket was also extra deep, and was open-ended, like a cup with a hole in the bottom, which is a unique dinosaur feature.

Different kinds of dinosaurs There are more than five hundred different kinds (genera) of dinosaurs. These can be divided into two main groups, based on the shape of their pelvis. The lizard-hipped dinosaurs, called saurischians, have a three-pronged pelvis. The bird-hipped dinosaurs, called ornithischians, have a four-pronged pelvis.

BRACHIOSAURUS

COELOPHYSIS nosaurs

Some of these animals are dinosaurs, and some are not. Can you spot the dinosaurs?

Answers on page 31.

The leaf base in grasses and other plants can wrap itself around the stem thus forming a leaf sheath. It protects the tender herbaceous stem and makes it stronger.

In plants growing in dry regions leaves turn into thorns, which offer the protection from animals and decrease water loss. In plants like these photosynthesis is performed by the green stem, where water is stored as well.

Leaves of some plants turn into tendrils, the fibrous plant parts which wrap themselves around solid objects and other plants. This is what keeps the stem in the upright position and enables leaves on top to expose themselves to sunlight.

THEATRE – How to make a play

Author: Jasen Boko

Illustrator: Dušan Pavlić

Author: Radivoje Andrić

Illustrator: Andrej Vojković

Author: Sonja Duletić-Laušević, Dušica Janošević

Illustrator: Tihomir Čelanović

The leaf blade of tropical pitcher plant, which feeds on insects, is shaped like a can with a lid. Lured by smells and intense colours, insects fall down the slippery walls into the liquid rich with digestive enzymes.

Illustrator: Dušan Pavlić

Author: Dragana Jokić

Illustrator: Dušan Pavlić

Author: Nedeljko Todorović

Illustrator: Ivica Stevanović

Author: Ivana Stepanović Ilić

Illustrator: Marko Somborac

Author: Vesna Bikić

Illustrator: Dušan Pavlić