An intriguing cover, attractive, action-filled illustrations, and an amusing story add up to a beginning reader with solid...
In this comical emergent reader, a half-dozen eggs that are past their sell-by date provide a big surprise when they hatch into baby dinosaurs.
The unnamed narrator of the story notices the eggs moving in their carton, and soon they’ve hatched into tiny dinosaurs that the boy’s mother mistakes for toys. The boy hides the six prehistoric reptiles, all different types, in his room for a while, with some funny results as he strives to keep his parents out of his room: “Don’t come in! I’m naked!” he lies. In fairy-tale fashion, the dinosaurs grow to full size rapidly, eventually bursting through the roof of the family home. The boy’s parents are surprised at this development but receptive to their new pets, and the dinosaurs are welcomed into the neighborhood. Watercolor illustrations with pen-and-ink outlines depict smiling dinosaurs with bulging eyes and mottled skin colors. The dinosaurs are all a friendly bunch, giving rides to the neighbor kids and a fast mode of aerial transportation for the boy’s mom to get to work. Though the story isn’t particularly inventive, the enduring popularity of dinosaurs reappearing in the modern age will make this a useful addition to collections for new readers in libraries and classrooms.
An intriguing cover, attractive, action-filled illustrations, and an amusing story add up to a beginning reader with solid appeal. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3196-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses.
An elusive new quarry leads the How To Catch… kids on a merry chase through a natural history museum.
Taking at least a step away from the “hunters versus prey” vibe of previous entries in the popular series, the racially diverse group of young visitors dashes through various museum halls in pursuit of the eponymous dino—whose quest to “spread kindness and joy ’round the world” takes the form of a mildly tumultuous museum tour. In most of Elkerton’s overly sweet, color-saturated scenes, only portions of the Loveosaurus, who is purple and covered with pink hearts, are visible behind exhibits or lumbering off the page. But the children find small enticements left behind, from craft supplies to make cards for endangered species to pictures of smiley faces, candy heart–style personal notes (“You Rock!” “Give Hugs”), and, in the hall of medieval arms and armor, a sign urging them to “Be Honest Be Kind.” The somewhat heavy-handed lesson comes through loud and clear. “There’s a message, he wants us to think,” hints Walstead to clue in more obtuse readers…and concluding scenes of smiling people young and otherwise exchanging hugs and knuckle bumps, holding doors for a wheelchair rider, and dancing through clouds of sparkles indicate that they, at least, have gotten it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9781728268781
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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