DORIS THE BOOKASAURUS

Doris—a light-blue cartoon dinosaur who adores reading books—eventually wins over her skeptical, action-oriented brothers.

“Hooray for books! / I love them so! / I get a wagonload to go.” That’s Doris at the library, beginning a fairly lengthy exposition of her love affair with books. The entire text is in rhyme, with two different schemes of rhythm. The scansion is excellent, making the verses both easy to read aloud and easy for pre-readers to eventually memorize. Children who embrace the warm, happy personality of PBS’ Barney will eagerly accept smiling Doris, with her pink stegosaurus spikes, and her equally colorful theropod brothers. Although the brothers initially complain that Doris just wants to read when they want to do such things as play “STEGO Blocks” or “Chomp the Flag,” Doris inadvertently lures them into her world by revealing exciting facts from a book of records, riddles from a joke book, and the imaginative playacting that results from reading fiction. Little ones will giggle at how the tables turn after Doris’ pirate book completely enthralls her brothers. If the group pictured on the verso upon opening the book is Doris’ family, it appears that Doris and her mother share the cartoon gender trait of curly lashes. Fortunately, Doris’ exuberant, life-affirming behavior shows not a trace of shy, bluestocking bookishness.

As with most books about the awesomeness of reading, this is most likely to appeal to children who are already excited about books, but it makes for an agreeable affirmation.