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THE DINOSAUR QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

Name: THE DINOSAUR QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK
Author: Sylvia Funston
ISBN: 0-316-67736-1

EVERYTHING KIDS WANT TO KNOW ABOUT DINOSAURS, FOSSILS, AND PALEONTOLOGY

by Sylvia Funston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1992

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Brief answers to 100 questions children asked the editors of Owl magazine, but not everything dinosaur lovers would like to know. Questions vary from intriguing (``Why did huge dinosaurs lay such small eggs?'') to silly (``Were baby dinosaurs cute?''). Some responses don't really answer the question: ``How big was T-rex?'' ``T-rex was so long that it could bite the diving board in most backyard pools while hanging on to the wall at the shallow end with its tail.'' Format is fussy, with three columns of text, photos of fossils, and drawings that vary from authentic to annoyingly rubberized or cute. Some, reproduced from museum murals, are too reduced in size to be useful. Brief ``dinosaur quiz,'' with answers in the back; glossary; index. Adequate where demand is insatiable. (Nonfiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-316-67736-1

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA

by Laurie Keller & illustrated by Laurie Keller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1998

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Imagine the states, Kansas, California, Ohio, and all the rest, as people with toothy grins, ping-pong balls for eyes, pipe cleaner limbs, and full-blown personalities. Imagine, then, that they get together at a party and decide to switch places on the map. In this amusing spoof, Kansas wakes up one morning saying, “I’m not feeling happy at all!” and starts the whole thing. Florida goes to Minnesota, California goes to Wisconsin, Nevada and Mississippi fall in love. Then the trouble starts: Alaska, who had missed company, feels claustrophobic among other states; Kansas finds his place in the middle of the ocean to be a bit too quiet; Minnesota, in Florida’s spot, forgets to pack suntan lotion; and so on. Soon the states are rushing back to their original spots with sighs of relief. Keller, in her first book pushes a silly idea, to great lengths, and will elicit laughs from all those who thought geography was boring. The states are colorful, boastful, belligerent, and charming, in collage illustrations that are full of spontaneous asides and intriguing labels. The states appear in a final gallery, with a few statistics to square off the whole funny enterprise. (Picture book. 8-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-8050-5802-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
I USED TO BE A DINOSAUR
by Casey Lyall ; illustrated by Laurie Keller

- BOOK REVIEW
BEARS ARE BEST!
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by Laurie Keller

- BOOK REVIEW
WAKE ME UP IN 20 COCONUTS!
by Laurie Keller ; illustrated by Laurie Keller

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THE SINGING ROCK & OTHER BRAND-NEW FAIRY TALES

by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer ; illustrated by Simini Blocker ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2019

Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...

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The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.

Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”

Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)