The little boy from Dino Pets (2007) finally gets to show his menagerie off to his class, but will school ever be the same again?
Plourde’s playful verse follows the little boy as he repeatedly attempts to bring just the right dinosaur to school for pet day. But the tallest dino wrecks the bus, the widest crushes the lunchroom table, the smartest eats all the math tests and the spikiest? “At recess time / we played a game. / Our soccer balls / were not the same.” A final spread of dinosaur facts describes the dinosaur that fits each superlative and explains that what scientists know about these prehistoric creatures changes with new discoveries and findings. For teachers, this holds lots of spark for a creative-writing lesson…and a cautionary warning against holding a classroom pet day. Kendall’s artwork glows with deadpan realism, taking this imaginative tale to a whole new dimension. Watching the little boy’s pride turn to chagrin as each successive pet causes mayhem and destruction is as much fun as the chaos itself.
Readers will delight in this latest dino pets installment and wonder where the dinosaurs might go for their next calamitous adventure. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-525-42232-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
Categories: CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES
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Dinos that love to move and groove get children counting from one to 10—and perhaps moving to the beat.
Beginning with a solo bop by a female dino (she has eyelashes, doncha know), the dinosaur dance party begins. Each turn of the page adds another dino and a change in the dance genre: waltz, country line dancing, disco, limbo, square dancing, hip-hop, and swing. As the party would be incomplete without the moonwalk, the T. Rex does the honors…and once they are beyond their initial panic at his appearance, the onlookers cheer wildly. The repeated refrain on each spread allows for audience participation, though it doesn’t easily trip off the tongue: “They hear a swish. / What’s this? / One more? / One more dino on the floor.” Some of the prehistoric beasts are easily identifiable—pterodactyl, ankylosaurus, triceratops—but others will be known only to the dino-obsessed; none are identified, other than T-Rex. Packed spreads filled with psychedelically colored dinos sporting blocks of color, stripes, or polka dots (and infectious looks of joy) make identification even more difficult, to say nothing of counting them. Indeed, this fails as a counting primer: there are extra animals (and sometimes a grumpy T-Rex) in the backgrounds, and the next dino to join the party pokes its head into the frame on the page before. Besides all that, most kids won’t get the dance references.
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1598-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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Officer Buckle had Gloria, his police canine, to help his audience see the value of his safety lessons; Yolen and Teague have their dinos.
Addressing such perennial topics as jumping on the bed, climbing too high and stair safety, Yolen and Teague first present the dinos doing the wrong things, their faces plainly showing that they are surprised and scared by the world of hurt about to come their ways while caring (and dwarfed) loved ones freak out in the backgrounds. “Does he climb up too high? // Or jump on his bed? // Does he race on his bike with no helmet on head?” (Scansion is a bit of an issue.) Of course not! And though the text says that it will tell readers why, it doesn’t, instead just explaining what the dinos do to stay safe. Among other things, Cearadactylus holds Mama’s hand and crosses with the light, Majungasaurus swims where his papa can see him, Agustinia wears his bike helmet, and Concavenator brings water to drink on long hikes. As in previous outings, Teague’s artwork steals the show, the realism of the scenes and human figures juxtaposed with the giant, though childish, dinos. Labels in the illustrations and endpapers will help dino mavens identify their favorites.
Don’ts and Do’s in a familiar formula go down easily for fans and will provide a good conversation starter for parents. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-439-24104-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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