He describes the periods of the prehistoric world, explains the differences between a Suchomimus and a Spinosaurus, and sets out his plan to write two more books about dinosaurs. All very impressive for a seven-year-old.
Pritvik has astounded his parents, peers and teachers with his incredible knowledge about palaeontology. His debut as a published author with his book When Dinosaurs Roamed The Earth takes his academic achievements to a new level.
“My book is about the different periods and the dinosaurs that lived in them. The periods in my book are Triassic, early-Jurassic, Jurassic, early-Cretaceous and Cretaceous, so five different periods,” said the Year 3 student at Dubai British School.
Despite the complexity of palaeontology, Pritvik grasped the subject at an early age. He was less than one-year-old when he first started quizzing his parents on matters of the universe.
“I was nine months old when I first got interested in dinosaurs. I was interested in dinosaurs because they are very fascinating and they are one of the oldest things on the whole planet,” said Pritvik. Pritvik’s mother Indira was shocked at her son’s early passion for the prehistoric. She’s also unsure as to how Pritvik picked up the interest.
“None of us in the family are into any kind of prehistoric creature or animal! It’s completely down to Pritvik,” she said.
“He’s been into this, actually, since he was very, very small – from about nine months. He was a very good speaker and developed it very fast. He questioned things which were very out-of-the-box like gravitational pull, how the earth is pulling everything without a string.”
Pritvik’s teachers were also taken aback by the young boy’s fascination and knowledge of the prehistoric world. But after talking with Pritvik and discussing his interests, the school was able to nurture his talent.
Indira said: “In fact, the teachers in the school were also as perplexed as I was. Fortunately they took the trouble of assessing him, finding out what his interests were, and they realised that he is gifted.”
Not only did the teachers assess Pritvik, they also found the perfect outlet for his enthusiasm. With a resident dinosaur expert on site, it made perfect sense to let Pritvik teach his fellow students. Hannah Turner, a teacher at the Dubai British School, said: “I have never encountered such enthusiasm for such a complex area of study from a child so young. Pritvik’s interest and understanding of pre-historic creatures is quite staggering… I feel very fortunate to have had the school palaeontologist in class who can pronounce dinosaurs’ names correctly, comment on their eating and behavioural patterns, body systems and periods of existence without the aid of the internet or information book.”
It was Pritvik’s foray into teaching that ultimately inspired him to write the book.
“I also teach Year 5 and 6 students about dinosaurs and they can’t really understand what I say so I thought I can put it in the format of a book so they can understand it better.”
Pritvik’s colourful book with dramatic illustrations of dinosaurs explains in clear, concise language the different creatures of the prehistoric world. Already written, his second book will be about Suchomimus and other fish-eating dinosaurs, while he is also planning another book about animal mutations.
Despite only being seven years old, it’s clear to see that Pritvik has a bright future ahead in palaeontology.— chris@khaleejtimes.com
Original story: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=/data/todayevent/2012/June/todayevent_June18.xml§ion=todayevent