Breakout Dinosaurs: Canada’s Coolest and Scariest Ancient Creatures – Return!

Book Launch with the Author Hugh Brewster, Dec. 15th & 16th

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) invites you to join Toronto author Hugh Brewster on December 15 and 16, 2007, as he presents his recently released children’s book Breakout Dinosaurs: Canada’s Coolest, Scariest Ancient Creatures - Return! (Whitfield Editions, November 2007). Illustrated by Alan Barnard and featuring more than 20 dinosaurs, this 32-page book brings to life a time millions of years ago when dinosaurs ruled what is now Canada. Inspired by the ROM’s renowned palaeontology collection, Breakout Dinosaurs was written with the expert advice of the Museum’s Assistant Curators Janet Waddington and Kevin Seymour and Associate Curator David Evans. Visitors can view all of the Breakout Dinosaurs in the new and expanded James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs, opening to the public on December 15, 2007. The book launch takes place in the Museum’s Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre on Saturday, December 15 at 2 pm and Sunday, December 16 at 1 pm. Seating is first-come-first-served and is free with ROM admission.

For his ninth children’s book, author Hugh Brewster brings together engaging text and descriptive features that will appeal to readers of all ages and from all parts of Canada. Breakout Dinosaurs. explores the lives of the land- and sea-dwelling creatures that lived in North America from 65 to 200 million years ago. Young readers will learn about British Columbia’s armadillo-like ankylosaurs, Manitoba’s giant marine reptiles called elasmosaurs and mosasaurs and the long-necked plant-eating prosauropods that lived on ancient sand dunes in Nova Scotia. Colourful sidebars reveal fascinating facts about the dinosaurs – when they lived, their sizes and weights, and what they ate. Numerous pages are devoted to the horned Chasmosaurus, the duck-billed hadrosaurs and one of the fiercest Cretaceous period predators, the Albertosaurus, - all uncovered in Alberta’s badlands, the richest single dinosaur site in the world. Breakout Dinosaurs arrives just in time for the holiday season and is available at the ROM Museum Store for $19.95 plus applicable taxes. For more information on this book, please visit: www.hughbrewster.com.

Saturday, December 15, 2007:

1 pm – 2 pm: Author book signing in ROM Museum Store, Level 1

2 pm – 4 pm: Author presentation and book signing in Eaton Theatre, Level B2

Sunday, December 16, 2007:

12 pm – 1 pm: Author book signing in ROM Museum Store, Level 1

1 pm – 3 pm: Author presentation and book signing in Eaton Theatre, Level B2

About the new galleries:
On December 15, 2007, the ROM unveils its spectacular new and expanded James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs and the Gallery of the Age of Mammals. Together, these awe-inspiring, light-filled new galleries occupy the entire Level 2 of the Lee-Chin Crystal, with more than 1,400 sq. metres (15,000 sq. ft.) and 5.4-metre (18-foot) high ceilings that accommodate the tallest and largest specimens. The galleries are home to over 750 specimens, including about 50 dinosaur specimens, of which 20 are complete or nearly complete skeletons, as well as 26 full mammal skeletons, representing the diversity of life during the Age of Dinosaurs and the Age of Mammals.

On December 15 and 16, visitors can enjoy additional dinosaur-themed programming to celebrate the return of dinosaurs to the ROM. Visit www.rom.on.ca/dinos for more information on the galleries and all the family fun, including dinosaur animations projected onto the walls, an appearance by the ROM’s new mascot, the Gordo the Barosaurus, Canada’s largest dinosaur, and dino meal specials at Food Studio.

About the author:
Hugh Brewster moved to Georgetown, Ontario from Scotland when he was six and attended high school and university in Guelph, Ontario. He has worked as an editor for Scholastic Inc. in Toronto and New York, where he was involved in the creation of the Scholastic’s Canadian children’s publishing program, and was Editorial Director and Publisher of Madison Press Books. He began writing in 1996 and has since authored nine children’s books, including On Juno Beach; Canada’s D-Day Heroes (Toronto, Scholastic Inc., 2004), the 2005 winner of the Children’s Literature of Canada Information Book Award; At Vimy Ridge (Toronto, Scholastic Inc, Spring 2007), published in 2007 for the 90th anniversary of Canada’s great World War I battle; and Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose: The Story of a Painting (Toronto, Fall 2007), a finalist for the 2007 Governor General's Literary Awards for Children’s Literature.