Expect dino fans to roar with approval as a crew of huge, toothy saurians thunders up the gangplank, ready to set sail for an exhilarating dino-cruise. Hardly have they cast off, however, when a storm blows up, and their enthusiasm pales along with their complexions: “Their dinotummies slosh and churn. / They groan with every twist and turn. / Their paling faces dinofrown. / ‘Heave ho!’ They cry. ‘It won’t stay down!’ ” Indeed it doesn’t, as a green and gross wordless spread reveals. Fine’s art isn’t (happily, in this case) as finished as usual, but his dinosaurs are both identifiable, and in high spirits or low, easy to identify with. In an ending that segues nicely into John Steven Gurney’s Dinosaur Train (2002), barely have the erstwhile sailors staggered back ashore when they’re gripped by a new enthusiasm: “ ‘Dinotrainers, all aboard!’ ” Readers will happily go along for the ride. (Picture book. 7-9)
