A bit of dino drollery for the diaper-clad.
Daily farm chores are anything but routine when the livestock runs to stegosaurs and the odd T. Rex.
Not that you’d be able to tell that last bit from the blandly generic narrative: “It’s hard work being a farmer. / You have to wake very early every morning, and you must make sure you have a nice, big breakfast before your day begins.” Presaging what’s to come, though, that “breakfast” is a soft-boiled egg the size of a small watermelon. As the overalls-clad farmer (more a rancher it would seem) sets about carrying hay and mucking out a mountain of malodorous, brown “mess,” each seemingly typical task is witnessed by flocks of smiling dinos (or, in the garden scene, carnivorous-looking flora). Throughout, the farmer looks dismayed in Preston-Gannon’s cut-paper collages, and serving T. Rex an oversized steak isn’t the only moment he seems one step away from being a goner. In the end, though, it’s all really a sweet, rural idyll that ends with the farmer and his prehistoric charges crowded into his moonlit bedroom in a collective snooze.
A bit of dino drollery for the diaper-clad. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1132-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Young dino fans will enjoy it, though their grown-ups may not.
What sounds did dinosaurs make? We don't really know.
Litton suggests some possibilities while introducing sophisticated vocabulary in a board-book format. Five dinosaurs are featured: Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl, Diplodocus, and Triceratops. For each species there is a brief description that highlights its distinctive features, followed by an invitation to hear and repeat the dinosaur's sound. There is no explanation for why scientists think T. Rex “roared,” Stegosaurus “howled,” Pterodactyl “screeched,” Diplodocus “growled,” or Triceratops “grunted.” The author tries to avoid sexism, carefully referring to two of the creatures as “she,” but those two are also described in stereotypically less-ferocious terms than the male dinos. The touch point on the Pterodactyl is a soft section of wing. Readers are told that Diplodocus “loved splashing in swamps,” and the instruction is to “tickle her tummy to hear her growl,” implying that this giant creature was gentle and friendly. None of this may matter to young paleontologists, who will enjoy finding the tactile section on each creature that triggers the sound. Despite extensive directions in small print, most parents and libraries won't bother to change the battery secured by a tiny hex screw, but while the battery lasts, the book will get lots of play.
Young dino fans will enjoy it, though their grown-ups may not. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58925-207-3
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
A snore for all but the most avid toddler paleontologists.
After busy days spent doing what dinos do, nine colorful dinosaurs happily bed down for the night protected by a loving adult dino.
Each sleepy dinosaur inhabits a fanciful environment, though it is unclear whether they are based on known information about where dinosaurs lived. There is nothing ferocious or threatening about these dinosaurs. Nor are they likely to excite young paleontologists, as the purpose of the book is to convince young children to go to sleep, just like each of the dinosaurs. The singsong-y verses don’t really work as poetry. Uneven meter makes for an awkward read-aloud experience, and forced rhymes (“Mom” and “calm”; “leaves” and “trees”) are a bit of a stretch. Similarly, touch-and-feel elements added to one of the dinosaurs on each spread feel arbitrary and are more distraction than successful additions. Even toddlers will wonder why only one of each set of dinosaurs has this tactile element. Each spread ends with a “Good night” followed by an alliterative nickname: “Dozing Diplos”; “Resting Raptors”; “Tiny Pteros”; “Snoozing Spinos.” This affectation will turn off adults with a low tolerance for cute and potentially confuse readers just beginning to learn dinosaur names.
A snore for all but the most avid toddler paleontologists. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-680105-48-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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