When Bugs Were Big tells the story of life on our planet in the Carboniferous and Permian periods, the last two periods of the Paleozoic Era. You’ll be surprised to discover how many fascinating plants and animals preceded the much more famous dinosaurs of the Mesozoic, from giant insects flitting among the weird trees of the coal swamps in the Carboniferous to a huge array of mammal ancestors and dominated the landscape in the Permian. The book ends with the most devastating extinction ever: the end-Permian extinction, which set the stage for the next era, the Mesozoic.
NOTE: When Bugs Were Big is no longer in print, but used copies are available on line. Better yet, you can spring for When the one-volume version of the When trilogy, When Fish Got Feet, When Bugs Were Big and When Dinos Dawned, which includes several updates on the science and a bonus picture of the Tully Monster that was not in the original book. 
Praise for When Bugs Were Big:
“Presented with verve and humor…Kids who dig dinosaurs will read the book purely for pleasure.” –Booklist (starred review)
“Bonner takes a lighthearted approach to a fascinating topic… The facts and the fun work well together, and it’s always clear which is which.” –School Library Journal (starred review)
“This is terrific. I think every paleontologist working on terrestrial organisms will want a copy. Maybe a lot of them. The reconstructions are great and would be wonderful to use in a college classroom.” –Bill DiMichele, Curator of Fossil Plants, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Awards:
Booklist’s Top 10 Science Books for Youth
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Book details:
National Geographic Children’s Books
Ages 7 & up
March 2004 48p.
Hardcover ISBN 978-0792263265
Hannah Bonner 