THE DINOSAUR AND THE BIRD

A dinosaur and a bird become the unlikeliest of friends.

Rejected by other dinos, a triceratops with a more colorful neck frill than her brethren makes a wish: “To walk with others of her kind.” She continues to walk alone until she encounters a bird with an injured wing who also feels lonely. Now the dino has a new wish—“to care for another”—and this time, her wish comes true. So far, so heartwarming, right? But then a meteor (it goes unnamed as such) hits the earth. Plants and trees—the dino’s food supply—die off, and she loses strength; now it’s the bird’s turn to make a wish: “To care for her friend.” Much of the storytelling occurs in Green’s earth-toned, Procreate-tweaked watercolors, as when the bird is pictured tirelessly tracking down food for her friend, now weak and exhausted. When the dino finally dies, a stunning wordless image depicts the bird grieving beside her friend’s body at four different times across many days. For all of Ho’s forthrightness about death and loss, he doesn’t forgo the uplifting ending. The dino’s final wish—“for life to continue”—introduces an illustration showing the bird joining a flock of fellow creatures flying into a promising future. Somehow, Ho has cleanly fused two seemingly adversarial elements: the science book and the feelings story.

A heartstring-pulling natural history lesson.