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THE DINOSAURS ARE BACK by Wendy Hartmann

THE DINOSAURS ARE BACK

and It's All Your Fault Edward!

by Wendy Hartmann & Niki Daly & illustrated by Niki Daly

Pub Date: April 1st, 1997
ISBN: 0-689-81152-7
Publisher: McElderry

It's bedtime and Edward's older brother is attempting to scare Edward out of his pajamas. What, his brother posits, if that rock under his bed is really an egg—a dinosaur egg—and it hatches? Big brother spells out the scenario: Edward will have to change its diapers and teach it manners: ``Bottoms off the table! Don't pick your nose! Stop making rude noises in bed!'' That's not the half of it, Edward's brother asserts, for during a full moon, the dinosaurs gather to avenge themselves on little boys who steal dinosaur eggs. There's a topsy-turvy comeuppance: Edward's brother works himself into such a froth that he believes his own tale and is snatched by dinosaurs, even as Edward drifts confidently off to sleep after mentioning something about ``bossy brothers who can't tell a rock from a dinosaur egg.'' This rollicking story from Hartmann and Daly (who also collaborated on All the Magic in the World, 1993) builds wonderfully to its climax, aided all the way by the swarming, vivid artwork. Pair it with Chris Raschka's The Blushful Hippopotamus (1996) for a story hour on dealing with overbearing siblings. (Picture book. 5-9)