THE DINOSAUR THAT POOPED A PLANET!

Name: THE DINOSAUR THAT POOPED A PLANET!
Author: Tom Fletcher
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9866-1

by Tom Fletcher & Dougie Poynter ; illustrated by Garry Parsons ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017

It’s easy to smell a storytime hit, thanks to the combination of unvarnished doggerel and poop in literally astronomical...

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When Danny takes his voracious pet dinosaur into space but forgets to bring lunch, there’s only one way to get back home.

Soaring into orbit aboard a rocket stolen from the science museum, Danny’s all set for an exciting adventure. Unfortunately, the lack of provisions soon has his humongous companion not only chowing down on the control boards, but sallying out to chomp on the moon, Martian passers-by, “satellites, Saturn, and six supernovas, / Shape-shifting saucers and seven space rovers,” until at last even the spacecraft itself has gone down the hatch. How to get back to Earth? Dino to the rescue: “With the feeling of guilt deep down in its gut, / Its brain brewed a plan involving its butt.” Propelled by a massive diarrheic stream that looks in the cartoon illustrations like golden cake batter studded with partially digested science gear, off rockets the white lad perched aboard his bulbous buddy…leaving behind a new, brown companion for the moon. Fletcher, Poynter, and Parsons gleefully and unapologetically play to the lowest possible common denominator, from concept to limping verse and (adult) stomach-turning visuals.

It’s easy to smell a storytime hit, thanks to the combination of unvarnished doggerel and poop in literally astronomical quantities. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4814-9866-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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THERE'S A BEAR IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

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THERE'S A UNICORN IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

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THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

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STELLA KEEPS THE SUN UP

by Clothilde Ewing ; illustrated by Lynn Gaines ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2022

An interesting premise but the execution is underwhelming.

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Stella hates going to bed, so she and her best buddy attempt to prevent the sun from setting.

Imaginative Stella, a young Black girl with Afro puffs, misses her friend Kamrynn, a light-skinned, straight-haired girl who has moved to “the other side of the world.” Luckily, Stella still has her best pal Roger, a blue hippo stuffie. Neither Stella nor Roger like sleeping: “Why do we have to miss all the fun and go to bed just because it gets dark?” Deciding that “if it never gets dark, then we can stay awake forever,” the duo work tirelessly to “keep the sun awake.” They play loud music, shine flashlights at the sun, and even make various attempts to launch a cup of coffee up to the celestial orb in hopes that caffeine will keep it alert. Eventually, the pair quit when they realize that if the sun never sets for them, morning can never come for Kamrynn, who wakes up when they go to bed. Despite the book’s sweet touches, the narrative is weakened by some meandering irrelevancies that make the plot feel disconnected. Also, at the beginning of the story, Stella seems enamored of the moon—she wishes she could jump high enough to kiss it—yet she and Roger spend the bulk of the book trying to prevent nightfall; this discrepancy may give some readers pause. The digital, cartoonlike illustrations are bright, colorful, and cheerful but don’t make up for the shaky plotting.

An interesting premise but the execution is underwhelming. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 8, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5344-8785-7

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

- BOOK REVIEW
STELLA AND THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING TOOTH
by Clothilde Ewing ; illustrated by Lynn Gaines

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DIGGER THE DINOSAUR

From the I Can Read! series

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich ; illustrated by Gynux ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2013

A strong new series for brand-new readers.

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Dotlich’s text makes good use of assonance and internal rhymes to support new readers’ decoding skills in this story about a dinosaur who needs to clean up his bedroom before he can go outside to play ball.

Momasaur is displeased with the state of Digger’s room, and when he asks if he can go play ball with his friend, Stego, she replies sternly, “No….Your room is a mess.” Digger mistakes the word “mess” for “yes,” but Stego corrects him, and in a spirit of friendly generosity, offers to help him clean up. Digger continues to fail to attend carefully to others’ words as he confuses Stego’s helpful directions, mishearing “hook” as “book” and “bones” as “stones.” Then Stego becomes distracted and mistakes Momasaur’s final direction to put “hats” away as putting “cats” away. Digger catches the mistake as the poor cats meow from within an armoire, and then they quickly free them and tidy up the hats before going outside to play ball. Cartoonish illustrations seem like they’d be right at home in an animator’s studio, though background detail is a bit overdone and potentially distracting in a book with such a well-controlled text.

A strong new series for brand-new readers. (Early reader. 4-6)