Even very young dinosaur devotees will have no trouble finding better pickings elsewhere.
A pooch with, in previous outings, a penchant for straying touristically in various modern cities takes a quick scoot through the age of the dinosaurs, and after.
Having dozed off while his human buddy Pete is studying, Larry “wakes” beneath the feet of a huge, plant-eating sauropod and then flees from a T. Rex, going past various armored and feathered dinos. He goes on to get glimpses of Cretaceous fliers and swimmers, then trots through the Cenozoic Era to the Stone Age and, at last, his modern dinner. In illustrations that look like scraped screen prints, the prehistoric critters are recognizable in shape but monochromatically colored. The often low-contrast or pastel hues are as flat as the main narrative’s verse: “These guys look scary, / With armor and spikes. / But that’s just for defense; / It’s plants that they like.” Along with unexplained terminology (“Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event”), the accompanying prose captions offer such awkwardly phrased gems as: “If something becomes buried under the right conditions, the evidence of it can last for millions of years.”
Even very young dinosaur devotees will have no trouble finding better pickings elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-57061-862-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A toothy, toothsome tale—if stronger on wish-fulfillment than feasible bully-fooling.
In this pointed prehistoric episode, little Jackson, derisively dubbed a “tinysaur,” defends a jar of jelly beans from a dino-bully.
Jackson’s warning that the jelly beans belong to his “really, really, really big friend” prompts only scoffing from his glowering assailant. Sarcastically declaring himself “really, really, really scared,” the increasingly angry bully demonstrates various feats of strength, each of which Jackson dismisses: “Everyone knows my friend can eat show-offs like you for breakfast.” This claim turns out to be (more or less) true, as the rolling green hills on which the confrontation has been taking place are revealed on the climactic spread to be the back of Jackson’s monstrous buddy after the “cave” into which the bully runs closes with a “SNAP!” Fortunately, the monster turns out to be a vegetarian and releases his chastened victim. The episode, illustrated with big, simple cartoons in jelly-bean colors and related in lines of variously sized large type, ends with all three dinosaurs amicably sharing the candy, “One for him…And one for you…AND ONE FOR ME!”
A toothy, toothsome tale—if stronger on wish-fulfillment than feasible bully-fooling. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58925-123-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young dinosaur fans will like this solo debut for Weinberg a bunch, bunch, bunch.
An exploding volcano, an unseen cliff, flying predators and other hazards challenge a dimwitted young T. Rex with a precious burden and a monosyllabic vocabulary.
Coming upon a large spotted ovoid, Rex’s delighted “Egg? Egg. Egg!” turns to “Run. Run! RUN!” when a volcano rumbles nearby. Serial, madcap mishaps ensue as Rex struggles to carry his find back to the nest and safety—only to trip at the last moment and send it flying. But then, seeing it lying on the ground undamaged (aside from a large crack, there from the beginning), Rex entertains a new notion: “Rock?” Using garish colors and a thick, red crayon for the scribbly linework, Weinberg crafts a mad cartoonist’s vision of a prehistoric setting that, seemingly on the verge of shaking apart at any moment, ratchets Rex’s flight into a giddy scramble. In contrast to Bob Shea’s fierce little scenery-chewer (Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, etc.), Rex is drawn as a comical figure with a dopey expression and big buck teeth. Still, nature will out. In the end, a smaller dino’s arrival offers Rex the prospect of a new “[f]riend!” Stomach rumbling like that volcano in the background, Rex decides instead that it’s time for some “[l]unch! Lunch! Lunch!”
Young dinosaur fans will like this solo debut for Weinberg a bunch, bunch, bunch. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0308-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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