Paying tribute to the renowned paleontologist who discovered T. Rex, Sheldon pairs a simply written text rich in specific detail to painted scenes of spectral prehistoric beasts rearing up behind a nerdy, dapper gent who is, usually, standing in some dusty locale and staring distractedly through wire-rimmed glasses at likely looking rock formations. Sometimes working in direct competition with rival teams of dinosaur hunters, Brown had a legendary ability to look in the right places, and not only did he make many important discoveries, but in the course of a 66-year career, he founded the unique fossil dinosaur collections at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Readers of Jane Kurtz’s easy-reader, Mr. Bones, Dinosaur Hunter (2004), will find more background here about Brown and the late 19th- and early 20th-century “bone wars,” as well as a fine gallery of toothy fossils and fleshed out reconstructions. Meaty afterword too, plus address and reading lists. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-8027-9602-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author and illustrator of Aliens Love Underpants (2007) go to the well again, describing in stumbling verse and colorful but unexceptional art how the dinos wiped themselves out squabbling over their prehistoric panties. Seeing cavemen modeling newly invented fur boxer shorts, the envious dinosaurs steal the concept, but they discover certain design flaws: “The pants from Woolly Mammoth coats / Made Stegosaurus itchy. / Diplodocus was really mad. / His briefs were way too pinchy!” Irritation quickly escalates into fury, and the ensuing autogenocide both leaves the cavemen (there are no women in evidence) relieved and leads to a closing “Don’t forget briefs saved Mankind. / They’re not just underwear!” Children may find Cort’s cartoon pictures of big, grumpy-looking dinosaurs sporting undies loud with polka-dots and other patterns briefly (so to speak) amusing. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8938-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
They’re not extinct, after all—they’ve just been on an interstellar cruise for a few million years. And now they’re back, loaded down with tourist snapshots and dirty laundry, eager to slip back into their suburban routines. A purple brachiosaurus finds herself stymied by the Great Wall of China, which has interposed itself between her and her accustomed toilet facility; a stegosaurus visits the post office looking for a package ordered millions of years ago; T. Rex arrives home to his cave to find his pet fossilized. Readers of the popular Jane Yolen/Mark Teague How Do Dinosaurs... titles are in for a severe case of déjà vu, as Kulka’s huge, clothed dinos look an awful lot like Teague’s, and the illustrations are likewise all about how silly they look in human-sized settings. The author’s versification skills are far less evolved than Yolen’s, however—“They rode on Venusian coasters, / played on alien shores, / indulged in the lavish buffets, / and took all the scenic tours”—and this homage is likely to be a roaring disappointment to series fans. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7613-5212-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
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