Harry takes his bucketful of dinosaurs on another adventure, this time to visit the natural-history museum where everyone discovers a little bit of the past and comes face to face with their ancestors. Accompanying his sister, grandmother and mother to the museum so that Sam, his sister, can learn more about the Romans, Harry is soon bored with the armored statues with brushes on their helmets. After exhausting the entertaining activities of climbing on the display cases and trying to slide across the marbled floor, Harry decides to take a tour of his own, bringing his dinosaurs along for the journey. There they happen upon a room filled with dinosaur skeletons. The happy dinosaurs frolic as Harry’s imagination takes over, giving life to his toys. Bright and colorful illustrations depicting the energetic dinosaurs and their precocious owner are a perfect accompaniment to another of Harry’s trips. A bucketful of fun. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: June 14, 2005
ISBN: 0-375-83338-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Danny and his dinosaur (who, although he has been Danny's friend since 1958, has never been given a name) are off again, this time to summer camp, and everyone has a wonderful time, including readers. Danny's dinosaur makes everything more fun—racing (he needs to take only one step to win), rowing (he's the boat), hiking (he can offer all the tired hikers a ride home), eating a lot of toasted marshmallows (guess who eats the most?), or sleeping under the stars (no cot is big enough for a dinosaur). Hoff's simple prose and cartoon illustrations make a delightful book for beginning readers, with enough difficult words—ketchup and pizza- -to keep the story interesting, and enough clues in the illustrations to ensure new readers success. Every collection will have room for this welcome addition to the popular series. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: May 31, 1996
ISBN: 0-06-026439-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
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