by Maggie Li ; illustrated by Maggie Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2017
Dinosaur fans will have no trouble digging up better surveys.
A barrage of dino names and facts, with fanciful cartoon illustrations.
Between a cardboard magnifying glass taped onto the front cover and a board game (requiring reader-supplied dice and tokens) on the rear, Li scatters flat images of brightly colored dinosaurs, along with blocks of commentary that, except for some with numbers, are placed in no apparent order. The writing is amateurish (“Pterosaurs are one of the most filmed creatures of this time.” Say what?). Having set the bar for accuracy low at the outset by explaining fossilization using the “bones” of a prehistoric squid, the author goes on to present a mix of common facts and wrong or unsubstantiated information such as claims that T. Rex tails may have been too heavy to lift, that brachiosaurus was the heaviest dino, and that the duck-billed platypus is a Mesozoic relic. The stylized human figures scrambling through each scene do sport a variety of skin colors, but they are not consistently drawn to scale and are sometimes oddly placed (shredding foliage in a brachiosaur’s stomach, for instance). The science activity at the end suggests making “fossils” by burying chicken bones or toys in rubble and then digging them up.
Dinosaur fans will have no trouble digging up better surveys. (glossary, quiz) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-84365-307-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pavilion/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Feb. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
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by Jane Wilsher ; illustrated by Maggie Li
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by Jane Yolen ; illustrated by Mark Teague ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 2021
Tried and true, both in content and formula.
Parting—of the temporary rather than permanent kind—is the latest topic to be dino-sorted in this venerable series’ 14th outing.
Nobody dies and the series is showing no signs of flagging, so reading anything ominous into the title is overthinking it. Instead, Teague and Yolen once again treat readers to a succession of outsized, gaily patterned dinosaurs throwing tantrums or acting out, this time as dad packs up for a business trip or even just sets off to work, grandparents pause at the door for goodbyes, mom drops her offspring off at school on a first day, parents take a date night, or a moving van pulls up to the house. Per series formula, the tone switches partway through when bad behavior gives way to (suggested) better: “They tell all the grown-ups / just how they are feeling. / It helps right away / for fast dinosaur healing.” Hugs, kisses, and a paper heart might also be more constructive responses than weeping, clinging, and making mayhem. Dinosaurian pronouns mostly alternate between he and she until switching to the generic their in the last part. In the art, the human cast mixes figures with different racial presentations and the date-night parents are an interracial couple, but there is no evident sign of same-gender or other nonnormative domestic situations.
Tried and true, both in content and formula. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-36335-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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by Jane Yolen ; illustrated by Nicole Wong
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by Jane Yolen ; illustrated by Kathryn Brown
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by Jane Yolen ; illustrated by Cathrin Peterslund
by Chris Gall & illustrated by Chris Gall ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2012
Young fans of all things big and noisy will make trax for this dynamic dino-diversion.
The prehistoric metal monsters dug up and introduced in Dinotrux! (2009) break out—twice!—in this smashing (crashing, roaring, grinding) sequel.
Exploding through the dino-museum’s wall in the wake of a particularly stressful Kindergarten Day, enraged Tyrannosaurus Trux rolls off to climb a skyscraper. Meanwhile, hungry Garbageadon chows down on local traffic, a pair of Velocitractors plow up Main Street and Cementosaurus dumps a heaping “present” in the town square. Enough! declares the mayor, firmly dispatching the miscreant mega vehicles to school to learn better behavior. Further chaos threatens when they burst out again, though, taking along the children who have introduced them to the wonders of (truck) books and other reading. Towering massively atop heavy-duty tires, with wide, headlight eyes and toothy maws agape, Gall’s brawny beasts make modern construction vehicles look like jumped-up SmartCars. But even the most brutish dinotrux can find a place in today’s world, as the final playground scene suggests.
Young fans of all things big and noisy will make trax for this dynamic dino-diversion. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-13288-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
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by Chris Gall ; illustrated by Chris Gall
by Chris Gall and illustrated by Chris Gall
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by Chris Gall ; illustrated by Chris Gall
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by Chris Gall ; illustrated by Chris Gall
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by Chris Gall ; illustrated by Chris Gall
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