For a more child-friendly romp through the library, try No T. Rex in the Library by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by Sachiko...
As an introduction to the library, the book's plot runs long and sometimes misses the intended audience.
In this loose companion to Can I Bring My Pterodactyl to School, Ms. Johnson? (2006), a child begs to bring his friend Woolly (mammoth) into the library. His refrain: “Can I bring Woolly to the library, Ms. Reeder? Can I? PLEASE?!” Unfortunately, Ms. Reeder never has an opportunity to respond or encourage the child to use the word “may.” Instead, the boy lists the things Woolly might do in the library, from practicing his letters to getting a library card and participating in Story Hour. Imaginative scenarios depicting Woolly learning that he may not bellow in the library or thump around do not mask the didactic text. At least one comment—“being read to will help Woolly with his reading, too”—is clearly aimed at adults. Animated spreads illustrating Woolly tackling library tasks will tickle youngsters, but, in a questionable scene they will not understand, Woolly shakes down a patron for fines. Readers will sigh with relief when the boy announces that Woolly will not be visiting the library after all, only to turn the page to hear the child ask, “Can I bring Saber to the library, Ms. Reeder? Can I? PLEASE?!”
For a more child-friendly romp through the library, try No T. Rex in the Library by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa (2010). (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58089-281-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Affirmation that you can have dreams the size of a prehistoric flying reptile.
It is possible to be whatever you want.
When his teacher tells students they can be anything they want, Tommy announces his ambition: to be a pterodactyl. Unsurprisingly, classmates jeer. Tommy’s sure a pterodactyl’s diet of live fish would be an improvement over cafeteria fare; living in a cave in a cliff overlooking the sea where no one could visit him sounds ideal; and, as he explains to the bus driver, people would pay him, as a pterodactyl, not to pick them up and fly them places. Kids on the bus tease him mercilessly. When Tommy arrives home, his dad listens to him carefully and suggests that Tommy “live like a pterodactyl, even if on the outside you still look like Tommy.” Dad accepts and understands his son’s aspirations, and the two pretend to be pterodactyls all afternoon. The result: Because of his strongly held, actually logical beliefs and dad’s affirmation, Tommy does grow up to be a pterodactyl—sort of; kids will cheer the satisfying, makes-perfect-sense ending. This empowering story is all about having seemingly unattainable goals and being lucky enough to have supporters willing to help achieve them. Tommy’s a sweet, realistic, albeit dreamy, character; his dad, a model, caring parent. The colorful, somewhat stylized illustrations are lively and humorous. Tommy and his dad are light-skinned. Classmates and school personnel are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Affirmation that you can have dreams the size of a prehistoric flying reptile. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593110652
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
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