HOW I CAPTURED A DINOSAUR

Here, Amy Schwartz--who has written and illustrated several popular stories, most recently Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner--illustrates her father's first picture book. Liz, the narrator, describes a trip to Baja California, where (not unexpectedly--she has done her research) she finds and tames an ""Albertosaurus."" Mom is startled, but willing to feed Albert hot dogs; Dad ""didn't seem as surprised as Mom, although he couldn't get his voice down to normal."" Since Liz has already been promised a pet of her choice for her eighth birthday, they take the friendly blue beast home to L.A., where it's a predictable hit with the local kids and proves a satisfactory pet, rather like a large dog. While neither as elegant nor as allusive as Joyce's Dinosaur Bob. . .(1988), the Schwartzes' book will probably appeal as much (or more) to children; Liz plays a more active role than the Lazardo kids, and the humor is on a more childlike level.